Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission issues on the sale of electoral registration details of electors who (a) are on the open register and (b) have opted not to be included on the central register.

Mr Gary Streeter: Electoral legislation prescribes in what circumstances and to whom electors’ details on the full and open electoral registers can be sold.   The ‘full’ electoral register includes the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote. Access to, and use of, the full electoral register is carefully controlled. It is only available for sale to certain government departments and other bodies, as well as to credit reference agencies, and may only be used for the purposes for which it has been supplied (for example, credit reference agencies may only use it for credit reference purposes).   The open register is an extract of the electoral register, which electors can opt out of. The open register can be bought by any person, company or organisation.   The Electoral Commission’s guidance to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) summarises what they are required to do by law. The guidance makes clear the difference between the open and the full registers, and sets out who can have access to them and the prescribed fees for supply. Individuals applying to register to vote are provided with information on the open and full registers, including what they are used for and who can be provided with data from them.   As part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, EROs wrote to all existing electors who had been automatically transferred to the new registers. This letter included information on both the open and full register. The Commission’s report on the first phase of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, published in October 2014, noted that when EROs began sending these confirmation letters it became clear from the response that many people who were on the open register were not aware of that fact, and were unhappy about how their information was being used.   The Commission remains of the view that the open register should no longer be compiled or made available for sale. The Commission has also recommended that, should the open register be retained, electors should be asked whether they wish to opt in, rather than opt out.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps the Electoral Commission has taken on local authorities who have improperly sold on the details of electors who have opted out of the open register.

Mr Gary Streeter: If an Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) wrongly supplies the details of an elector who has opted out of the open register, this could constitute a breach of the Data Protection Act. In those circumstances, The Electoral Commission would advise an ERO to immediately speak to their local authority’s Data Protection Officer (or an equivalent officer) and/or directly contact the Information Commissioner’s Office. Depending on the circumstances it could potentially constitute a breach of the ERO’s official duty. An ERO guilty of any act or omission in breach of their official duty – without reasonable cause – is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.The Commission’s guidance to EROs makes clear that the details of any elector who has asked to opt out of the open register must not appear in the open register.It also highlights that an ERO is a data controller with statutory responsibilities under the Data Protection Act, and links to the data protection principles produced by the Information Commissioner’s Office, as well as other sources of guidance for local authorities on data handling, including the Local Government Association and the Society of Information Technology Management (SOCITM).

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what information the Committee holds on what income local authorities receive from the sale of electoral registers to the private sector.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission does not hold this information.However, the Commission’s guidance to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) recommends that EROs maintain a record of the transactions of sales of the registers, which should be available for public scrutiny. The cost of purchasing electoral registers is prescribed in legislation.

Prime Minister

HSBC

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister, what due diligence he undertook on the background of Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint before his appointment as a Minister of State in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and what communications he has had with Lord Green in respect of the accounts of British residents and nationals held by HSBC in Switzerland since 2005 since 7 February 2015.

Mr David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson) on 11 February 2015, Official Report, columns 774-775.

Department for Work and Pensions

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to encourage Work Programme providers to work with housing associations to help tenants boost their employability.

Esther McVey: Holding answer received on 04 February 2015



  We actively encourage housing associations to approach their local Work Programme providers to work together and there is evidence of this happening to help tenants boost their employability. We are currently exploring ways in which we can build on the success of the current programme in the design of future contracts, including through ensuring effective partnership working at the local level. We will be engaging with stakeholders, including housing associations, as this work progresses. Work Programme providers remain responsible for promoting and publicising the programme to ensure effective engagement with key stakeholders, including local partners such as housing associations. As of September 2014, the Work Programme has helped 368,000 long term unemployed people into lasting work.

Pensions Regulator

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints the Pensions Regulator has received in each year since 2010.

Steve Webb: The Pensions Regulator publishes all its complaints statistics in its Annual Report and Accounts. The figures for each year from 2010 are contained in the table. Category2010-112011-122012-132013-14Stage 120241816Stage 25355 Notes:1. A Stage 1 complaint is a first tier complaint which receives a response from the Corporate Secretary.2. Stage 2 is where the complainant is not satisfied with the first response and requests a review of the complaint by the Chairman.3. Further information about the Pensions Regulator’s complaints process can be found at http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/about-us/how-to-make-a-complaint.aspx4. The Pensions Regulator’s Accounts are published athttp://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/about-us/annual-reports.aspx

Employment and Support Allowance

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken from an application for reconsideration of an employment and support allowance decision to a decision being made on that case was in each month since October 2013.

Mr Mark Harper: The latest information available is provided in Table 2.1 in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mandatory-reconsiderations-of-dwp-benefit-decisions-data-to-october-2014

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 8 December 2014, Official Report, column 638, what progress his Department has made in raising awareness among benefit claimants of interim payments.

Esther McVey: I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 January 2015 to Question UIN 218961

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 223098, what the value is of overpayments recovered from Work Programme providers since June 2011.

Esther McVey: The overpayments recovered from Work Programme providers since June 2011 to 31st January 2015 is £30m, which is less than 2% of total expenditure on the programme.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proposals his Department has to measure the time between a benefit claim being made and the claimant receiving their first payment.

Esther McVey: The Department currently uses a suite of measures to track and manage the timeliness of processing for the range of benefits it administers. These measures are supported by business information systems and used to help manage and improve performance. Going forward, the Department plans to retain these measurements for working age benefits and is developing a processing time measure for Universal Credit along similar lines.

Universal Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 13 of his Department's impact assessment of universal credit, published in December 2012, what his latest estimate is of the potential increase in social security payments arising from the introduction of universal credit due to changes in entitlement rules and increased take-up.

Mr Mark Harper: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave her on 9 February 2015, UIN223271- 223274.

Access to Work Programme

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Access to Work programme has spent on British Sign Language interpreters to date.

Mr Mark Harper: Since 1st April 2007 and up to 30th September 2014, the Access to Work programme has spent £150m on British Sign Language interpreters.

Pensions Regulator

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has for reform of the Pensions Regulator.

Steve Webb: A report on the Triennial Review of pensions bodies was published by the Department on 9 January 2014. It concluded that the Pensions Regulator should continue in its current role and retain its status as a Non-Departmental Public Body. Accordingly there are no plans for reform of the Pensions Regulator.

Pension Protection Fund

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to increase the Pension Protection Fund payment cap.

Steve Webb: The Pensions Act 2014 provides for an increase to the Pension Protection Fund compensation cap of 3 per cent for each year of pensionable service above 20 years, to a maximum of double the standard cap. Changes are needed to secondary legislation before the primary legislation comes into force and we are currently aiming for this work to be completed by Autumn this year.

Members: Correspondence

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Birkenhead dated 20 October 2014 regarding the Government's Child Poverty Strategy.

Steve Webb: A reply is going out today, Monday 23 February.

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many DWP sanctions there were relating to each benefit in each Scottish parliamentary constituency in 2010-11.

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many DWP sanctions there were relating to each benefit in each Scottish parliamentary constituency in 2013-14.

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many DWP sanctions there were relating to each benefit in each Scottish parliamentary constituency in 2011-12.

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many DWP sanctions there were relating to each benefit in each Scottish parliamentary constituency in 2012-13.

Esther McVey: The information requested for Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance adverse sanctions, by Scottish Parliamentary constituency, for each of the last four years is published at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm The available information in respect of Income Support Lone Parents (ISLP) sanctions is shown in the attached table.



Income Support Lone Parents (ISLP) sanctions
(PDF Document, 10.08 KB)

Personal Independence Payment

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to share information on personal independence payment claimants between his Department and social services departments in local authorities.

Mr Mark Harper: A key part of the personal independence payment claims process is that claimants are able to tell the Department who is best placed to provide supporting evidence. Such evidence can come from a variety of sources, including social services, as well as GPs, community nurses, family members and carers.   As part of continuous improvement, the Department will continue to work with other areas of the public sector, including local authorities, to improve this information sharing process to ensure the best possible outcomes for claimants. The Government is also considering the recommendation by Paul Gray in his independent review of the PIP assessment to explore the potential for wider sharing of information, and will respond in due course.

Social Security Benefits

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants he expects to return to work as a consequence of the revised benefit cap.

Esther McVey: This information is not available as the benefit cap has not been revised. The latest official statistics show over 55,000 households have been capped to November 2014. In total, on average, 800 households per month have either found work or are no longer claiming housing benefit. Of those no longer capped, 40 per cent or 12,478 households went into work. The actual number of households who have gone into work may be higher; some individuals may go into work but may not be eligible to claim WTC if their earnings are too high or the hours worked do not meet the claim requirements. Further information can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-cap-number-of-households-capped-to-november-2014

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons his Department and the Skills Funding Agency have not agreed a data sharing protocol with the Work Programme contractors delivering the Skills Support for Work Programme participants in employment project in partnership with Newham College of Further Education.

Esther McVey: The department has established an information sharing protocol enabling relevant data to be shared by Work Programme providers with all Skills Support for Work Programme providers. This involves providers first obtaining the participants’ consent, so their information can be shared.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received from Jobcentre Plus staff, working on Universal Credit in jobcentres where it has been rolled out, about technical and communications problems associated with Universal Credit.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department routinely seeks and receives insight from Work Coaches and other front-line staff on all aspects of DWP operations. We use this feedback to ensure our services are operating at an optimal level.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the withdrawal of the Youth Contract Wage Incentive Scheme on youth unemployment; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: The wage incentive was always intended to be a time limited measure. It was designed to support employers during the recession. It has provided nearly 100,000 job opportunities for young people. The economy is recovering; the UK has witnessed the largest annual drop in youth unemployment since records began. Our focus now is to make sure young people have the skills they need to take up these vacancies. The reinvestment of money from the wage incentive scheme into other areas has enabled us to continue to drive down youth unemployment with the most recent figures showing youth unemployment down 188,000 in the last year and by nearly 200,000 since 2010. During 2014 youth unemployment recorded its largest annual fall on record and long-term youth unemployment has also fallen by more than 50,000 in the last year. Since the wage incentive was introduced, take up by employers has been lower than expected. Employers found it less attractive than other elements of the scheme. DWP listened to businesses and responded to their needs, as such we reinvested money into those groups who are hardest to help to:· Provide additional advisor time for young people in areas of high youth unemployment and for disadvantaged 18-19 year old NEETs;· Provide additional funding for BIS to support young people further away from the labour market by providing education and training activities intended to lead initially to traineeships or equivalent provision and subsequently employment.· Support the 16-17 NEET pilots and BIS 18-21 Work Skills pilots· Provide additional funding for City Deals;· Extend the New Enterprise Allowance scheme to December 2014 and provide funding for BIS for start up loans

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in youth unemployment between June to August and September to November 2014.

Esther McVey: Unemployment figures from the Labour Force Survey are based on a sample of individuals and normal sample variation means the estimated level of youth unemployment can fluctuate from any one period to the next. The number of young people in work is increasing, up by over 100,000 in the last year and by over 125,000 since 2010. The underlying trend has seen falling youth unemployment and during 2014 overall youth unemployment recorded its largest annual fall on record. The number of unemployed 16-24 year olds fell 171,000 in the year to September - November 2014 and is down nearly 200,000 since 2010. Long-term youth unemployment has also fallen by more than 50,000 over the last year. The number of young people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, which is more up to date and not affected by sampling issues, fell by 118,400 in the year to January 2015. It continued to fall in the latest month, down 10,700 between December 2014 and January 2015. This is the 38th consecutive monthly fall and means the youth claimant count is at its lowest level since the 1970s.

Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department provides to its managers on how many days training should be made available to staff.

Esther McVey: There is no specified number of days an individual should have for training as it would depend on an individual’s job role, the length of time they have been in post, any changes to their job role and their personal capability level and developmental needs. Training can be undertaken as attendance at formal classroom based events recorded as training days but developmental needs can also be met through less formal activities – job shadowing, mentoring, on the job learning, downloading resources from Civil Service Learning and so on. In line with the Departmental People Performance Policy, development needs are set and reviewed as part of regular discussion between an individual and their line manager looking at continuous development to maintain and potentially enhance performance. From these discussions the amount of developmental activity necessary (including formal training days) will emerge for each person. In addition the Civil Service Reform Plan outlines a Civil Service wide commitment to each individual having at least 5 days a year of developmental activity but this will not be just training – many other activities would contribute to an individual’s 5 days a year.

Cold Weather Payments

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individual cold weather payments were made to recipients in the UK in winter 2013-14.

Steve Webb: Only one trigger was recorded in the 2013/14 Cold Weather season and an estimated 1,100 payments paid. Further details can be found in the ‘Social Fund Cold Weather Payments for Great Britain from 1st November 2013 to 31st March 2014’ update on Gov.uk which may be found athttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/299461/sf-cwp-31-03-2014.pdf.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what targets his Department has is place for processing customer claims for (a) income support, (b) jobseeker's allowance, (c) employment and support allowance and (d) universal credit.

Esther McVey: The Department currently uses a suite of measures to track and manage the timeliness of processing for the range of benefits it administers. These measures are supported by business information systems and used to help manage and improve performance. Going forward, the Department plans to retain these measurements for working age benefits and is developing a processing time measure for Universal Credit along similar lines.

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of raising the participation age on the level of youth unemployment.

Esther McVey: Raising the participation age was legislated for in 2008 with the aim of ensuring young people have the skills and qualifications they need to succeed in the workplace. The number of young people in work is increasing, up by over 100,000 in the last year and by over 125,000 since 2010. A higher participation age should help to cut youth unemployment in the short-term, as it means more young people are studying full-time, and in the longer term, by increasing the level of skills and qualifications of the workforce. Over the last year 16-17 year olds and 18-24 year olds have both seen significant falls in unemployment, with unemployment down both for those studying full-time and for those who have left full-time education. During 2014 overall youth unemployment recorded the largest annual fall on record and the youth claimant count has now fallen for 38 consecutive months.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of UK state pension reside in the French overseas department of (a) Guiana, (b) Martinique, (c) Guadeloupe and (d) Reunion.

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of UK state pension reside in metropolitan France.

Steve Webb: Information on the number of recipients of UK state pension residing in France, and of those how many are in the French Overseas Departments, is available at: http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/sp/cccountry/cnage/a_carate_r_cccountry_c_cnage_may14.html

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received from local authorities engaged in the accelerated rollout of universal credit to their areas from February 2015.

Mr Mark Harper: As part of the national roll out of Universal Credit (UC) which I announced on 12 October 2014, officials from my Department are in discussions with Local Authorities (LA) and their representative bodies across Great Britain including the Local Government Association, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association in taking UC forward. Senior Representatives jointly consider matters in the Partnership Forum, and in the Universal Support Task Force and most recently the Implementation and Expansion Sub Group. These discussions include; agreeing go-live dates, managing communications, discussion on level of support LAs can provide to UC claimants and associated costs. All Representations from LAs are being managed at a local level during the course of these discussions. The Minister for Welfare Reform has engaged with the local government sector including holding regular meetings with Councillor David Sparks, chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA).

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 2 January 2015 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton with regards to Mr Marwan Saleh.

Steve Webb: Despite an extensive search, I am afraid the Department has no trace of the letter.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensures that in cases where jobseeker's allowance claimants are sanctioned, local authorities suspend housing benefit only in cases where it is appropriate to do so.

Esther McVey: I refer the Hon. member to the reply given to the Rt Hon. Member for East Ham on 5 January 2015.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what criteria his Department compiled the list of people and organisations to whom his Department's consultation, Universal Credit data sharing between his Department and local support providers, published on 10 December 2014, was initially sent.

Mr Mark Harper: This was an open consultation hosted on GOV.UK, to which anyone, individual or organisation could respond. DWP also sent it to organisations with whom we have been working to develop proposals for local support.

Home Office

Human Trafficking: EU Action

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the recommendations of the Council of Europe Experts on Action Against Trafficking Report on the Implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings by the UK, published in September 2012.

Karen Bradley: The Government intends to respond to the recommendations of the Council of Europe Experts on Action Against Trafficking (GRETA) Report shortly. Since September 2012, the Government has made significant progress intackling modern slavery, including human trafficking, and the response will fullyreflect our progress to date. This includes introducing a world-leading Modern Slavery Bill to Parliament, publishing a comprehensive modern slaverystrategy, trialling child trafficking advocates to better protect child victims and thoroughly reviewing the identification and support of victims through the National Referral Mechanism.

Aviation

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many flights on the Civil Aviation Tracking System were found not to have submitted general aviation reports after Border Force cross-checking in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: This information is not recorded in a reportable field on Home Office databases. Obtaining such information would therefore require a manual search of records and could only be achieved at a disproportionate cost.

Entry Clearances

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who required a visa to be present in the UK have been found to be without the necessary visa in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: The data in the table below shows the total number of people found and served with an IS151A because they have no lawful basis of stay in the UK. These include illegal entrants or a person subject to administrative removal, including those who have failed to observe a condition of leave to enter or remain in the UK.Visa Nationals only Year20102011201220132014Grand Total45,16546,42343,41751,26942,860Data shows people served with an IS151A for Visa nationalities only.

Drugs: Smuggling

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many seizures of controlled drugs of what value have been made by Border Force officials in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: The number of annual seizures of drugs by Border Force is as follows:Period Scope of the data collection Number of Seizures2013-14 National 6,0732012-13 National 5,8982011-12 National 3,6652010-11 England and Wales only * 3,9542009-10 England and Wales only * 3,948* Prior to the creation of Border Force in 2012, drugs seizures made by UK Border Agency were reported in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin Seizures of drugs in England and Wales. These reports present figures for the number of drug seizures made by Police Forces in England and Wales (including the British Transport Police) and drugs seizures made by the UK Border Agency in England and Wales only. Drugs seizures made in Scotland and Northern Ireland were reported separately by Police Scotland and the Police Service Northern Ireland but do not include drugs seizures made by Border Force for those countries. Border Force does not hold data on the value of drugs seized.

Aviation

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of general aviation private flights were (a) classified as high risk and (b) met by Border Force officials on arrival in the last 12 months.

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many general aviation flights were met by border officers in each year since 2010; and how many such flights were classified as high risk.

Mike Penning: The information requested in this question is not available for release on the grounds of operational security.

Crime: North West

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many disability hate crimes were reported in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013 and (v) 2014.

Lynne Featherstone: All forms of hate crime are deplorable and it’s important that victims are protected and have the confidence to come forward. The Government is driving forward work to tackle hostility and hate crime. We have toughened up sentencing and are working closely with the police and other agencies to increase reporting, improve support and prevent these terrible crimes happening in the first place. The Government’s Action Plan on hate crime, published in 2012, and progress report, published in May 2014, outline actions currently being taken by the Government to tackle hate crime, as well as the many actions which have already been completed. We continue to work with our voluntary sector partners to raise awareness of hate crime at local and national events, and explore opportunities to promote the use of the True Vision web tool further, including through targeted social media advertising with direct messages to specific groups.The Home Office receives information on the number of disability hate crimes recorded by the police at the force area level. Data are therefore available for Lancashire and for the aggregated forces in the North West and are on a financial year basis for the three years, 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14. The available information, alongside totals for England and Wales, is given in the Table. Further information on hate crimes, including force level figures, can be found at this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crimes-england-and-wales-2013-to-2014  Number of disability hate crimes recorded by the police in Lancashire, the North East and England and Wales, 2011/12 to 2013/14   Numbers  England and Wales, recorded crime2011/122012/132013/14  Lancashire4065118   North West270289354   England and Wales1,7571,8431,985   Source: Police recorded crime, Home Office

Radicalism

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to announce funding allocations for schools, colleges and universities through the Prevent strategy in 2015-16.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office is currently in the process of deciding funding allocations for the Prevent strategy for 2015-16, including for schools, colleges and universities. A final decision will be made shortly.

Borders: Personal Records

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of passengers entering the UK had data on their journey collected under the E-borders programme in each year since 2009.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office collects Advance Passenger Information for passengers who travel to the UK on routes connected to the Semaphore system. The estimated proportion of passengers who travelled to the UK on routes connected to Semaphore each year is in the following table. Due to ongoing legal arbitration between the Home Office and Raytheon, it is not possible to disclose coverage data for 2010.2009 57%2010 N/A2011 64%2012 67%2013 79%2014 81%

Entry Clearances

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who overstayed a visa in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: It is not possible to accurately quantify the number of immigration offenders in the UK as, by their very nature, those that deliberately evade immigration control to enter and stay in the country illegally are not officially recorded until they come to light and are arrested.The Immigration Bill has provided new powers to implement exit checks, which the last Labour Government scrapped in 1998. This will allow the Home Office to screen those who leave the UK to identify threats and persons of interest to Border Force, immigration enforcement and other law enforcement bodies, and to enable an appropriate response.The Home Office continues to prevent abuse, pursue offenders and increase compliance with immigration law—our immigration compliance and enforcement teams across the UK target illegal migrants who have no right to live and work in the community.The Immigration Bill will stop migrants using public services to which they are not entitled, reduce the factors which encourage people to come to the UK and make it easier to remove people who should not be here.

Aviation

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many general aviation pre-flight passenger notifications were (a) submitted and (b) not submitted to Border Force officials in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: This information is not recorded in a reportable field on Home Office databases. Obtaining such information would therefore require a manual search of records and could only be achieved at a disproportionate cost.

Vetting

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of how many and what proportion of Disclosure and Barring Service applications were returned to applicants within (a) 20, (b) 40, (c) 60, (d) 80 and (e) 100 days and (f) more than 100 days in each of the last 12 months.

Karen Bradley: The number and proportion of disclosure applications completed within 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 days, and the number and proportion completed in more than 100 days, for each month from February 2014 to January 2015 is provided in the table below. 



Disclosure applications completed
(Excel SpreadSheet, 26.5 KB)

Vetting

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of application backlogs at the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Karen Bradley: The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) receives around 4 million disclosure applications a year and provides the Home Office with monthly updates on itsperformance. Latest data for the 2014-15 operational year, covering the period from April 2014 to January 2015, shows that 95.4% of disclosure certificates were issued within 40 working days - well above the DBS service standard to issue 88% of all disclosures within this time. A key aspect of DBS administration is to ensure that disclosure checks are both accurate and completed within service standard timescales. In the small proportion of cases where checks have not been completed within these timescales, the DBS is expected to take the necessary steps to progress the case including, as appropriate, working with the police and other parties involved in the checking process.

Vetting

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the dates are of the oldest applications currently being processed by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Karen Bradley: The Disclosure and Barring Service is currently processing 36 applications that were received more than 12 months ago. No case is older than 19 months. There are a number of reasons why some cases may take longer than others to process.

Domestic Violence

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding she plans to allocate to police forces to train officers in recognising signs of coercive control and collecting the necessary evidence when that offence is introduced.

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) chief constables and (b) organisations dealing with violence against women on the training requirements for police officers when coercive control becomes a criminal offence; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: We are committed to ensuring the police and other frontline agencies have the tools they need to respond effectively to domestic abuse. That is why on 18 December, the Home Secretary announced her intention to create a specific offence of domestic abuse. The offence will not come into force until frontline agencies are properly trained to operate it effectively. An implementation plan, which will consider funding issues, is currently being developed with the police and College of Policing. The College is working with CAADA (Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse) to pilot an intensive programme of training including domestic abuse and coercive control. An evaluation will be carried out following the pilot to ensure that the training will make a significant contribution to long term improvements to policing of domestic abuse and will be an important factor in driving a culture change in the police so that domestic abuse is treated as the serious crime that it is. The new offence of 'coercive and controlling behaviour', as well as the wider issue of training for police officers on domestic abuse, has been discussed at the National Oversight Group on domestic abuse, established and chaired by the Home Secretary. The purpose of the group is to implement and monitor activity against the recommendations coming out of HMIC’s review of domestic abuse and includes both Chief Constable and Third Sector representation.

Asylum: Syria

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to explore the possibility of resettling Syrians to the UK via private sponsorship from individual British citizens who have expressed interest in offering accommodation to Syrians in need; and what discussions she has had with the Local Government Association on ways in which local authorities can indicate their interest in resettling Syrians in their communities.

James Brokenshire: We have not considered a private sponsorship model for the resettlement of Syrians through the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme. We do not believe this is appropriate given the vulnerabilities of those arriving in the UK as we need to ensure that the correct level of support and accommodation is in place before they arrive in the UK.After launching the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme last January, the Home Secretary wrote to the Chairman of the Local Government Association on 11 February 2014 encouraging local authority participation and the contents of this letter have been cascaded across local authorities. As the scheme has progressed, we have continued to engage closely with local authorities who have expressed an interest in participation. Following the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) pledging conference in Geneva on 9 December 2014, a number of additional local authorities have also expressed an interest, and we are in discussions with them. We are grateful to the local authorities who are supporting the scheme, and we remain confident that we can continue to meet the needs of arrivals in the UK under the scheme as planned. We expect the scheme to help several hundred Syrians over three years, and we welcome further offers of support from local authorities as the scheme progresses.

Animal Experiments

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the Government response to the Consultation on the review of section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, published in May 2014; and if it remains her intention for any amendments to the legislation arising from the consultation to be made before the dissolution of Parliament.

Lynne Featherstone: The consultation on revising Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 has now concluded. Draft proposals are with other Government departments for consideration and I intend to make an announcement in due course.

Cryptography

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received about the feasibility of the technical work involved in prohibiting the use of strong encryption; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential cost to businesses of prohibiting the use of strong encryption; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office have received a number of representations from members of the public on encryption. This Government supports the use of encryption, which helps keep personal data and intellectual property safe. It is also vital that the security and intelligence agencies can access unencrypted data to prevent threats to our national security, when it is necessary and proportionate to do so. We will continue to engage with industry regarding these issues.

Passports

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the guaranteed fulfilment period is for (a) issuing new and (b) renewing (i) children's and (ii) adult passports.

Mike Penning: The gov.uk website sets out expected turnaround times for applications made in the UK and, on a country-by-country basis, for applications made overseas. HM Passport Office aims to deal with applications within published turnaround times, but this is a guideline only as there are a number of factors that can affect how long it takes to process an application. The premium and fast track service provide a guaranteed turnaround period of four hours and seven days respectively on payment of an additional fee, provided the applicant has submitted all the relevant information and the necessary security requirements are met.

Modern Slavery Bill

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing the reasonable person test in defence for children from the Modern Slavery Bill.

Karen Bradley: The statutory defence is an important additional protection for victims of modern slavery who have been compelled to commit certain offences as a direct consequence of their slavery or trafficking situation. In addition, the Crown Prosecution Service will continue to use its discretion to not charge an offence or discontinue a prosecution which is not required, in the public interest. It is imperative that the defence protects child victims of modern slavery from being inappropriately criminalised whilst also avoiding providing complete immunity for the most serious categories of offending. The reasonable person test is an important safeguard in ensuring that the defence cannot be abused.The defence for child victims has been amended in the House of Lords to remove the requirement for compulsion and we have also tabled an amendment at Lord’s Report of the Modern Slavery Bill to the reasonable person test for child victims to make it easier for child victims to gain protection from the statutory defence. This amendment will remove the reference to the child having no realistic alternative to committing the offence and will mean that once the defence is raised, the prosecution would have to show beyond reasonable doubt that the child acted unreasonably in committing the offence.

Slavery

Sir John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her modern day slavery strategy will contain plans to prevent victims of modern day slavery being retrafficked (a) within the UK, (b) within the EU and (c) elsewhere.

Karen Bradley: The Modern Slavery Strategy, published on 28 November 2014, sets out this Government’s approach to tackling modern slavery. The strategy places considerable focus on support for victims of slavery and trafficking, to enable them to recover from their ordeal and move on with their lives. This includes strengthening support for victims to help them avoid being retrafficked. Commitments include activity to support adult and child victims, both where they remain in the UK or wish to return home.

Human Trafficking: Albania

Sir John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the 449 potential victims of trafficking from Albania referred to in the National Crime Agency's National Referral Mechanism Statistics 2014 have received a (a) positive Reasonable Grounds decision, (b) positive Conclusive Grounds decision, (c) negative Reasonable Grounds decision and (d) negative Conclusive Grounds decision on their immigration status; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Human Trafficking

Sir John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the risks of retrafficking within the UK once a victim of trafficking has completed his or her period of reflection in a government-funded shelter and is no longer permitted to remain in the shelter accommodation.

Karen Bradley: Protecting victims is at the heart of the Government’s strategy on modern slavery. Addressing the risk of retrafficking is a key factor in the review of the National Referral Mechanism and the provision of support through Government funded safe houses. Our strategy focuses on strengthening support for victims so that they can increase their resilience to being retrafficked. This includes Government funded support providers who work with victims to support safe reintegration based on each individual’s needs, taking into account any particular risk of retrafficking. The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s role also includes promoting good practice in the prevention of modern slavery offences, including prevention of retrafficking

Slavery

Sir John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of how many suspected victims of modern slavery were subsequently retrafficked after being referred to the National Referral Mechanism in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The information requested is not available as it is not routinely recorded as part of the National Referral Mechanism process. However, the NCA's 'Strategic Assessment on the Nature and Scale of Human Trafficking in 2013,' which was based on additional information and intelligence, identified that there were three cases where a potential victim had experienced a secondary periodof exploitation following recovery during the period 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013. Similar intelligence assessments were produced in 2011 and 2012 which contained no data relating to the number of potential victims that may have been re-trafficked.

Offences against Children

Sir John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many calls have been logged in total since the government-funded trafficking helpline run by the NSPCC was established; and how many confirmed victims of human trafficking have been identified as a result of such calls.

Karen Bradley: The Modern Slavery helpline was set up on 31 July 2014 as part of a wider national communications campaign. Between 31 July 2014 and 29 January 2015, the NSPCC helpline received a total of 654 contacts. These contacts comprise 383 referrals, 82 advice cases, and 189 enquiries. The helpline ensures that potential victims are referred to the appropriate agencies, including law enforcement, for immediate support and assistance. As a result, the NSPCC does not record the number of confirmed victims of modern slavery, including human trafficking.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken for the determination of applications for Tier 4 visas Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies certificates was in the last period for which figures are available; and what the average time taken for applications equivalent to those applications was in the period before that period.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to determine the application by CTC Aviation, dated 10 October 2014, for an allocation of Tier 4 (General) Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies visas for pilot training; and if she will direct officials to make an interim allocation to enable the needs of that body's current clients to be met.

James Brokenshire: CTC Aviation’s application for an allocation of Tier 4 (General) Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was approved on 12 February 2015. The application was processed within the published 18 week service standard.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to determine the application by CTC Aviation, dated 18 November 2014, for Highly Trusted Sponsor status for pilot training; and what the reason is for the time taken to determine that application.

James Brokenshire: The Highly Trusted Sponsor status application by CTC Aviation was granted on 12 February 2015. The application was decided within the published 18 week service standard.

Police: Cleveland

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 22 November 2012, Official Report, columns 566-7W, on police: Cleveland, what estimate she has made of the number of police officers allocated to Hartlepool constituency for frontline duties in each year since the basic command unit was abolished; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Penning: As set out in the previous answer mentioned by the Hon Gentleman, the Home Office no longer collects police workforce information at the requested level. The deployment of available resources is a matter for chief officers locally, working with their Police and Crime Commissioner.At the overall police force area level, according to the definitions set out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Cleveland Police plan to have 1271 police officers working in frontline roles by March 2015. This represents 91 per cent of the total police officer workforce. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary has made clear there is no simple link between officer numbers and crime levels. This is supported by the reduction in crime of more than one fifth under this Government, according to the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales.

Entry Clearances

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what rules apply to the entry into the UK of diplomatic personnel from countries identified by the Government on countries of concern in relation to human rights violations and corruption.

James Brokenshire: Diplomats posted to an Embassy or High Commission in the UK or who are in transit through the UK to their diplomatic posting are exempt from immigration control. This means that any checks are limited to verifying the person’s nationality and identity, that they are exempt from immigration control and they are the rightful holder of the document presented. People holding diplomatic passports coming to the UK for any other reason are assessed against the Immigration Rules. In certain cases individuals are subject to international travel bans, imposed by the EU or UN. These are imposed for a number of factors and human rights violations and corruption could be a factor in this decision.

Human Trafficking

Sir John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of the Salvation Army shelters for victims of human trafficking in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013; whether the Government's funding of those shelters is dependant on the number of victims identified or the length of time they stay in the shelter; and for what average number of days victims have stayed in such shelters in 2014.

Karen Bradley: The total cost of the Government-funded Adult Victims of Trafficking Care Contract was £3.7 million in 2012 and £3.6 million in 2013. The cost of this contract is dependent on both the number of potential victims who enter the service and the length of time potential victims stay in the service. In 2014 the average length of stay in a safe house was 81 days.

Slavery

Sir John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any organisations contracted to provide specialist support and accommodation to victims of modern slavery are accommodating victims in hotels or bed and breakfast lodgings for (a) 24 hours or less, (b) one to five days and (c) more than five days; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The Government-funded Adult Victims of Trafficking Care Contract is delivered through The Salvation Army, who subcontract a range of support providers across England and Wales. One of these support providers provides accommodation within a commercial hotel, this includes for (a) 24 hours or less, (b) one to five days and (c) more than five days. Due to the nature of this accommodation it is only used to accommodate potential victims with lower level support needs, who are sufficiently independent.Under the European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (ECAT), the Government is obligated to provide potential victims of trafficking with a recovery and reflection period which includes appropriate accommodation. All support providers provide regular reports to The Salvation Army on their compliance with the ECAT obligations. Compliance is monitored by The Salvation Army, who undertake periodic inspections, including evaluating a sample of support plans and conducting feedback interviews with potential victims.

Human Trafficking

Sir John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been identified in each of the last five years as having been referred to the National Referral Mechanism more than once.

Karen Bradley: The current National Referral Mechanism (NRM) system is not designed to be able to accurately identify this type of information. Personal details collected at the point of entry to the NRM are not currently recorded in a way which permits the definitive identification of individuals who have been referred more than once. This is due to a number of factors in the way the data is provided by both responding agencies and potential victims, as well as how it is collated and recorded. The recommendations of the NRM review, when implemented, will make provision for this type of data in the future.

Crimes of Violence: Greater London

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London on the level of violent crime in London.

Lynne Featherstone: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.According to the latest crime figures published by the Office for National Statistics, the Crime Survey for England and Wales shows violent crime is down by 23% under this Government, and this is supported by NHS data on hospital admissions for assault which also indicates violence is falling. The number of violence offences recorded by the police in the year to September 2014 rose by 16% compared with the previous year, with the Metropolitan Police one of the forces seeing a rise. The Office for National Statistics noted that the increase in police recorded violence is partly due to improved reporting and recording of violence and particularly of domestic abuse. This improvement follows Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary's inspection of crime recording in every police force in England and Wales, which the Home Secretary commissioned in 2013, and which found significant under-recording of crime. The data shows that forces are acting on the findings.We also know that some violent crimes like domestic and sexual violence are under-reported. We welcome more people reporting them to the police and we want to see more cases being brought to justice.

Powers of Entry

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many awards of damages have been awarded in respect of cases in which police officers from each police force caused substantial damage during the execution of a police raid or warrant in each of the last five years.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department offers on compensation available when police officers force entry into residential properties.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued on the use of reasonable force in the execution of a search warrant.

Mike Penning: The Police and Criminal Evidence Act Code of Practice B governs the searching of premises and the seizure of property from those premises by police officers. This includes the conduct of officers executing a search warrant (see paragraphs 6 to 6.15) and a note on compensation matters (see note 6.A). A copy of the PACE Code of Practice B can be found at GOV.UK.The execution of a search warrant is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of the force concerned and so too is the consideration of damage claims which, as PACE Code B makes clear, will depend on the circumstances in each case.The Department does not hold or collect data concerning the number of awards of damages paid out by police forces.

Northern Ireland Office

Police Federation for Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when she last met representatives of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: I am in regular contact with representatives of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland on a wide range of issues.

Police: Pensions

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with the Minister for Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive on changes to police pensions.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: As the hon Member is aware, the issue of police pensions in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter, and therefore the responsibility of the Minister for Justice David Ford MLA and the Northern Ireland Executive.

Northern Ireland Prison Service

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when she last met representatives of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: I met with the Director General of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, Sue McAllister, on 21 January 2015, when she updated me on the recent tensions on the republican separated wing at HMP Maghaberry. The Director General also advised me of the threats being made to prison staff by prisoners on the wing, which I unreservedly condemn. Such threats are utterly unacceptable and I stand with the Northern Ireland Prison Service in calling for those responsible to stop.

Police: Pensions

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with retired or retiring members of the Police Federation on the new public service pension regulations for police officers.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: As the hon Member is aware, the issue of police pensions in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter, and therefore the responsibility of the Minister for Justice David Ford MLA and the Northern Ireland Executive.

Northern Ireland Government

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the outcomes were of her visit to New York and Washington in February 2015 to brief US administration representatives on the progress of the Stormont House Agreement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: I updated a number of key figures in the US Administration, in Congress and in the Irish-American community on the Stormont House Agreement. It is evident from these meetings that there is strong US support for the Agreement, and ongoing interest in its implementation, including the devolution of corporation tax powers.

Department of Health

NHS

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS organisations came into being on 1 April 2013.

Jane Ellison: On the 1 April 2013, 211 clinical commissioning groups and NHS Property Services were established.   171 organisations have been abolished following the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

Wheelchairs

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what impact assessment his Department has undertaken into its changes to wheelchair services and the potential effect of those changes on service (a) provision and (b) users.

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has for the commissioning of specialised wheelchair services in the NHS after 2015.

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the assessment for and supply of wheelchairs is to remain an NHS service.

Norman Lamb: Commissioning responsibility for wheelchair services to support patients with complex physical disabilities will transfer from NHS England to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) from 1 April 2015. CCGs already commission all other wheelchair services.   Ministers made the decision to transfer commissioning responsibility for this service following advice from the Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group, an independent advisory committee established by the Department, which considers proposals for changes to commissioning arrangements against four statutory factors. The decision was taken in consultation with NHS England.

Pregnant Women: Alcoholic Drinks

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2014 to the hon. Member for Sefton Central, Official Report, column 47WH, when he expects the Chief Medical Officer to publish the results of her review into the risks to children and to women of drinking alcohol while pregnant.

Jane Ellison: The review is currently underway and we expect to be able to consult on any new guidelines by summer 2015.

Advertising

Mr David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advertising campaigns his Department has run in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The following table shows mass media public health campaigns in each of the last five years:   Campaigns2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15Alcohol xx xChildren's Health/Pregnancyx xxxCancer - Lung xxxxCancer - Bowelxxxx Cancer – Bladder and Kidney xxxxCancer – Breast (older women) xxx Cancer – Ovarian*  xx Cancer – Oesophago-Gastric*  xxxCancer – Know4Sure*  x  Cancer – Skin*xCancer – Prostate*xDementiaxxxxxFlu Immunisation  xxxObesity/Change4LifexxxxxRespiratory and Hand Hygienex x xSmoking - Tobacco ControlxxxxxStroke AwarenessxxxxxCare and SupportXWhooping Cough  x  NHS111 (In partnership with NHS England)*xxx *These campaigns have been run at regional and local levels as pilots.

Strokes

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the number of patients involved in stroke research trials.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) makes it possible for patients to participate in relevant research. The CRN supports the set-up and timely delivery of commercial and non-commercial trials and studies in the National Health Service in England. The number of CRN-hosted studies in stroke as main specialty, and recruitment to these studies, has increased substantially since 2008/09.   Data on the number of CRN trials (phases I to IV) and other well-designed studies open in each year in stroke, and recruitment to these trials and studies is shown in the following table.2008/092009/102010/112011/122012/132013/14Number of trials334743373539Number of studies (including trials)6698105117115114Recruitment in trials2,6323,2594,3725,0614,5123,015Recruitment in studies (including trials)6,9957,63510,51711,97912,3739,306   Recruitment to stroke studies was lower in 2013/14 than in 2012/13 as several large multi-centre studies with high recruitment targets closed. In addition, there has been change in the overall composition of the stroke study portfolio, with an increased number of single-centre and earlier phase studies with smaller recruitment targets.

Social Services: Veterans

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will review rules on social care charging for veterans in receipt of the war disablement pension.

Norman Lamb: This Government has made a clear commitment, through the Armed Forces Covenant, which we enshrined in legislation in 2011, to support members of the Armed Forces Community, which includes both serving personnel and veterans.   Social care has never been free and people have always been asked to make a contribution based on what they can afford. However, we know that the current system for paying for care no longer reflects the needs of today’s society which is why we are in the process of introducing the biggest reforms in over 65 years.   The War Pensions Scheme, which predates the introduction of the welfare state, provides a range of allowances in addition to the basic war disablement pension. Some of these allowances are designed to specifically pay for the ongoing care costs associated with an individual’s disability and these are paid at a preferential rate, meaning that a war pensioner does not have to use their basic war disablement pension to meet these costs or seek other benefits to cover them.   The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme that was introduced in 2005 operates differently and is therefore currently treated differently in assessing what a person can afford to contribute to the cost of their care. However, officials in the Department have been working closely with the Royal British Legion to assess how the two schemes might be aligned under the social care charging rules in future.   Alongside this we are in the process of introducing much wider reforms to how we pay for social care that will make the system fairer for everyone, including veterans. At the moment, someone who is unlucky enough to have the highest care needs can risk losing all they have to meet the cost of their care. These reforms will mean that, for the first time ever, everyone will be protected from the risk of catastrophic care costs. The proposals are currently out for consultation and can be found at:   www.careact2016.dh.gov.uk

Parkinson's Disease

Mary Macleod: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the Clinical Priorities Action Group has made in the review of the treatment duodopa for Parkinson's disease; and how the views of those affected by Parkinson's disease are being taken into account in that review.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that, at the request of patient groups, NHS England is currently consulting with patients and the wider public about how it makes decisions on which specialised services and treatments, including Duodopa, to invest in. This will ensure the principles and process it follows are well informed, evidence-led and in line with the expectations of patients and the public.   The consultation runs until 27 April 2015 and can be found at:   www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/investing-in-specialised-commissioning   Until then, any decision that is urgent on clinical grounds will be dealt with quickly though NHS England’s existing procedures. Clinicians will continue to be able to make Individual Funding Requests, on behalf of their patients, to NHS England for treatments like Duodopa that are not routinely available.

Hepatitis

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department's report, Hepatitis C in the UK, published in July 2014, what steps he is taking to approve for use new treatments for people with hepatitis C-related liver damage.

George Freeman: The Government is committed to ensuring that patients have access to clinically and cost effective treatments, including those for hepatitis C.   The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing advice to the National Health Service on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of health technologies.   NICE is currently appraising a number of new drugs for use in the treatment of hepatitis C under its technology appraisal process. These are shown in the following table.   Drug/indicationExpected date of final guidancesofosbuvir (Sovaldi) for treating chronic hepatitis CFebruary 2015simeprevir (Olysio) for treating genotype 1 or 4 chronic hepatitis CFebruary 2015ledipasvir-sofosbuvir (Harvoni) for treating chronic hepatitis CJune 2015daclatasvir (Daklinza) for treating chronic hepatitis CAugust 2015ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir (Viekirax) with or without dasabuvir (Exviera) for treating chronic hepatitis CSeptember 2015   More generally, we have launched an Innovative Medicines and Medical Technology Review of the pathways for the development, assessment, and adoption of innovative medicines and medical technology. This review will consider how to speed up access for NHS patients to cost-effective new diagnostics, medicines and devices.   The review will examine the pathway from ‘first in human’ trials, through licensing and health technology appraisal, to commissioning and clinical practice. It will set out both short and long-term options for action by Government and relevant bodies, including NICE, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NHS England, and mark a major contribution to the policy debate.

NHS: Working Hours

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on out-of-hours services in England in cash and real terms in each year since 1997.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The amount spent on out-of-hours services in cash and real terms since 2003-04 is represented in the table below. Before 2004, general practitioners (GPs) had responsibility for out of hours provision, with the allocation determined by each practice.   This Government has sought to improve access through the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund, which is making available £50 million this year and £100 million next year to improve access to general practice.2003-042004-052005-062006-072007-082008-09Cash terms£49,260,000£208,726,000 £379,503,000£342,305,000£338,800,000£378,214,000Real terms£63,034,000£258,927,000£457,983,000£402,187,000£386,754,000£421,174,0002009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14Cash terms£403,837,000£397,175,000£403,081,000£396,247,000£399,433,000Real terms£438,372,000£419,532,000£418,281,000£404,660,000£399,433,000   Cash terms from Health and Social Care Information Centre data ‘Investment in General Practice’ via: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB14900/inve-gene-prac-eng-wal-ni-scot-09-14-rep.pdf Real prices are presented in 2013-14 prices, based on the Gross Domestic Product deflators (from December 2014). Figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000.

Mental Health Services: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children and young people were admitted to hospital due to mental health problems in each year since 2009-10.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children and young people were diagnosed with a mental health problem in A&E in each year since 2009-10.

Norman Lamb: The information is in the table:   Year2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14A&E Attendances8,3589,32811,61413,65517,278FAEs11,90912,41712,36111,99412,126   The table shows both the number of attendances in accident and emergency (A&E) in which the A&E diagnosis was 'psychiatric conditions' and the number of Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) in which the primary diagnosis was ‘mental and behavioural disorders’.

Motor Neurone Disease

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the diagnosis and treatment of motor neurone disease.

Norman Lamb: Motor neurone disease (MND) is a rare incurable neurodegenerative condition and there are estimated to be up to 5,000 people with MND in the United Kingdom. In its early stages the disease can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms a patient may present with, such as fatigue, clumsiness and muscle weakness are shared with more common, less serious conditions. No two people with MND will be affected in exactly the same way and there is no one test to diagnose the condition.   To support general practitioners (GPs) to spot the potential symptoms of MND, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGPs) and the MND Association have worked together to produce a ‘Red Flag Tool’ which sets out key signs of MND to help GPs to identify suspected cases and refer them promptly to a neurologist for appropriate investigation. The RCGP and British Medical Journal have also both produced MND e-learning courses which together cover both signs and symptoms as well disease management.   All services for people with MND should be commissioned as a specialised service in line with NHS England’s neurosciences service specification. This sets out what providers must have in place to deliver high quality specialised neurological care. Specialist MND care can include a range of services such as counselling and emotional support, respiratory care, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, respiratory secretion management, neurorehabilitation, physiotherapy and palliative care. Drugs can be used for symptom management, but riluzole is the only pharmacological drug licensed in the UK to slow the progression of MND.   Finally, the Department has asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a clinical guideline on MND. Development is currently underway and the guideline is anticipated for publication in February 2016.

Multiple Sclerosis

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the rates of people being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance Multiple sclerosis: management of multiple sclerosis in primary and secondary care, updated in October 2014, states that around 100,000 people in the United Kingdom have multiple sclerosis (MS). Estimates from studies on annual incidence are more uncertain, and vary between 2,500 and 6,000 newly diagnosed cases each year. About 85 out of 100 people with MS have relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS) where periods of stability (remission) are followed by episodes when there are exacerbations of symptoms (relapses). About 10 to 15 out of 100 people with MS have primary progressive MS where symptoms gradually develop and worsen over time from the start, without ever experiencing relapses and remissions.   The guidance sets out a range of initial assessments a clinician should make including testing of vision and blood tests before referral to a consultant neurologist who can confirm or exclude a diagnosis of MS, subject to investigation. The guidance makes a range of recommendations on the pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of MS. NICE has recommended a number of drugs for the treatment of MS and is currently appraising Nerventra (laquinimod) for RRMS and ilenya (fingolimod) for primary-progressive MS. In addition over 18,000 patients have benefitted from disease-modifying treatments through the MS risk sharing scheme, established by the Department in 2002.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 2 February 2015 to Questions 222495, 222494 and 222493, how many medicines were paid for by the industry rebate payments through the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme in 2014 in each (a) financial quarter and (b) therapeutic area.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222493, what records NHS England keeps of the medicines that are paid for by the industry rebate payments through the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

George Freeman: The Mandate for 2015-16 has set a firm NHS England budget for 2015-16, which is £3 billion (3%) higher than its budget for 2014-15. This increase takes into account a number of things, including additional funding for the National Health Service announced in the Autumn Statement and the fact that the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) payment in 2015-16 is now forecast to be higher than originally expected.   All the PPRS payments go back into spending on improving patients’ health and care and it will be up to NHS England how they split that overall budget between clinical commissioning groups, specialised commissioning etc. Following normal Government accounting rules, there is no separately identified ring-fenced funding stream associated with the PPRS payment. Accordingly, it would not be possible to identify what or how many medicines are paid for by PPRS payments.   The Government believes that NHS commissioners and providers are best placed to decide how to allocate their budgets to deliver improvements in the outcomes for patients. The PPRS includes a number of commitments for improving patient outcomes and for improving patient access to clinically and cost effective medicines.

Nutrition: Restaurants

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many quick service restaurants have endorsed all eight nutrition-based Responsibility Deal pledges to date.

Jane Ellison: Full details of the quick service restaurants and other out-of-home catering businesses who have signed up to the nutrition-based Responsibility Deal (RD) pledges are available on the RD website at:   https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/pledges/

Hereditary Diseases

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to Part 5 (a) (ii) of the Mitochndrial Donation Regulations 2015, how the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority plans to define a "significant risk" of having or developing serious mitochondrial disease.

Jane Ellison: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that if Parliament passes the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015, it will need to design a regulatory process of which the consideration of “significant risk” is a part. In designing that process it will take into account, where relevant, the existing regulatory process for embryo testing (preimplantation genetic diagnosis).

Drugs: Side Effects

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on how many people have experienced adverse health effects as a result of using the drug ruxolitinib.

George Freeman: Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme. The Yellow Card Scheme collects information relating to suspected adverse drug reactions, which include both serious and non-serious effects which a health care professional or patient suspect may have been due to a medicine.   The MHRA has received a total of 74 United Kingdom spontaneous suspected ADR reports in association with ruxolitinib up to and including 10 February 2015. This number includes reports received directly from healthcare professionals, patients and indirectly through pharmaceutical companies which have a legal obligation to report suspected ADRs.   The inclusion of a particular ADR in a report does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the drug, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have, or it had a close temporal relationship to the administration of the suspect drug. The fact that symptoms occur after a treatment does not necessarily mean that they have been caused by the drug itself, as underlying illnesses and other conditions may be responsible.   In 2013, the product information for ruxolitinib was updated to warn healthcare professionals that cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) have been reported with ruxolitinib and to recommend that patients are monitored at regular intervals for any new or worsening neurological symptoms or signs. The Market Authorisation Holder is currently conducting studies to investigate the risk of PML further. The benefits of ruxolitinib to adult patients with myelofibrosis who have an enlarged spleen or symptoms related to the disease are considered to outweigh the risks.

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the merits of increasing (a) funding and (b) other Government support for (i) the KCA Riskit Project and (ii) other early intervention programmes on drug and alcohol misuse by young people, and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Ring-fenced 2015/16 public health allocations allow local authorities to plan and commission the services their communities need most, including those for young people vulnerable to risk taking behaviour such as the Riskit Project, and others including prevention and early intervention programmes. Schools can and do pay for these programmes and local authorities and the National Health Service are also free to find additional funds for them.   The case for early intervention and prevention is clear as the consequences of poor health in adolescence last a lifetime and incur costs in the long run.   This assessment underpins Public Health England’s significant early intervention and prevention support offer. This includes the ‘Young people’s health and wellbeing: a framework for public health’ and the Child and Maternal Health Observatory (ChiMat) site, which provides data and guidelines to support to local authorities. Government also funds the Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service which is a platform for sharing information and resources aimed at schools and practitioners working in drug and alcohol prevention.

NHS: Finance

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the full reports by KPMG he commissioned into the health economies of (a) Staffordshire, (b) Eastern Cheshire, (c) South West London, (d) North East London, (e) Cumbria, (f) Mid Essex, (g) Cambridge and Peterborough, (h) Leicestershire, (i) Northamptonshire, (j) East Sussex and (k) Devon.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library copies of the full reports by KPMG he has commissioned into the health economies of (a) Staffordshire, (b) Eastern Cheshire, (c) South West London, (d) North East London, (e) Cumbria, (f) Mid-Essex, (g) Cambridge and Peterborough, (h) Leicestershire, (i) Northamptonshire, (j) East Sussex and (k) Devon.

Jane Ellison: As part of NHS England, NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) and Monitor’s joint project to support 11 challenged local health economies develop clinically and financially sustainable five-year strategic plans, four consultancy firms (including KPMG) were commissioned to support the local areas with the development and strengthening of their plans.   Reports were provided by the consultants to support the project’s Programme Board, consisting of NHS England, TDA and Monitor, to manage the contracts and ensure that the service specification was being met.   Work is ongoing based on the contents of these reports and there are a number of steps that have to be undertaken in each of the local health economies before these reports can be released: the production of the five-year strategic plan, consideration of the plan, consultation on possible reforms to the health economy, recommendations for possible reforms following consultation, and implementation of recommendations.   To release the reports ahead of the steps identified above being completed would be likely to prejudice their outcome. The timescales for the above processes will be different in each of the 11 areas and, as the strategic plans are produced, they are made available from the relevant clinical commissioning group websites through their board papers.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Mrs Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department's policy on the effects of mitochondrial donation techniques on the characteristics of children born as a result of those techniques of research by (a) Woolf et al, Mitonuclear interactions: evolutionary consequences over multiple biological scales, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 369, 20130443, 2014 and (b) Løvlie, et al, The influence of mitonuclear genetic variation on personality in seed beetles, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Jane Ellison: The Government has no plans to assess these particular studies. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA) convened Expert Panel gave detailed consideration to mito-nuclear interactions, as outlined from page 30 onwards of the report of its third review, which can be found on the HFEA’s website at:   http://www.hfea.gov.uk/docs/Third_Mitochondrial_replacement_scientific_review.pdf   The Expert Panel considered the risk of mismatch between the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes to be very low. Even this extremely low risk could be avoided in mitochondrial donation treatment by matching the patient’s mitochondrial DNA haplogroup to that of the donor. Given that mitochondrial DNA does not affect physical or personal characteristics, and the risk of mito-nuclear mismatch is very low, mitochondrial donation techniques are not considered to have any effect on the characteristics of children born as a result of these techniques.

Pregnancy Tests

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health on 23 October 2014, Official Report, column 1142, what progress he has made on establishing the independent review of papers and evidence relating to oral hormone pregnancy tests; and when he plans to appoint a panel alongside the chair for that review.

George Freeman: The terms of reference for the review were endorsed by the Commission on Human Medicines in December 2014 and a suitable Chair for the panel has been identified. The areas of scientific expertise required for the review and suitable candidates within these disciplines have also been identified. The Government is in the process of obtaining all relevant documents and evidence for the review.

NHS: Finance

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2015 to Question 221511, what estimate he has made of the level of efficiency savings that NHS providers and commissioners can make in 2015-16 without affecting (a) the quality of, or access to, services, (b) staffing levels and (c) organisational financial performance; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Since 2010 the National Health Service has risen well to the efficiency challenge it has faced, reporting around £15 billion of efficiencies in the three years of 2011-12 to 2014-15. At the same time, there are now over 21,300 more professionally qualified clinical staff since May 2010 including:   - over 9,500 more doctors; and - over 6,300 more nurses, midwives and health visitors.   In contrast, the number of central administrative staff has fallen by over 20,300.   The 2013 Spending Round protected health funding in real terms. Subsequently, the 2014 Autumn Statement announced additional funding of £1.98 billion in 2015-16 for frontline NHS services. Together this will enable the NHS to maintain the quality of, and access to, services, in the face of continuing rapidly rising demands. At the same time, it will provide for significant new investment in new services, models of care and infrastructure to transform care for patients and ensure that the NHS remains sustainable in the longer term.   The NHS will need to continue to make significant efficiency savings. The Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2015-16 set an objective of “working closely with Monitor and the Trust Development Authority to secure unprecedented improvements in value for money across the NHS.”   Monitor and NHS England have responsibility for setting tariff prices which NHS providers receive for providing treatment and these prices build in an annual efficiency requirement. In their consultation on 2015-16 prices (Impact assessment for the proposals set out in the ‘2015/16 National Tariff Payment System: A consultation notice’’), they proposed an efficiency requirement of 3.8%, informed by evidence from an independent study on achievable efficiency (which took into account a variety of factors, including staffing levels), as well as evidence on recent NHS efficiency performance and feedback from the sector. They noted that “if public providers meet the efficiency factor and costs increase as expected, their annual financial performance would not change significantly as a result of proposals that affect overall price levels.”   As part of the NHS planning process, it is for local providers and commissioners to determine how best to deliver their locally identified efficiency opportunities in order to live within their budgets while continuing to meet demands and maintaining quality and access standards. It is also for local organisations to determine their staffing levels within the same framework.

NHS: Standards

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) benefits for and (b) risks to patient care of NHS foundation trusts and trusts being financially penalised for failing to meet performance targets in 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Patients have a right to National Health Service care in line with performance standards set out in the NHS Constitution. We believe it is correct that there should be financial incentives for providers of NHS services to achieve these important standards for their patients, and the NHS Standard Contract has for many years included such incentives.   Commissioners are able to apply sanctions where a provider misses one of these national quality standards, and retain the funding for re-investment in front line services.

Health Services

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral Answer of 13 January 2015, Official Report, column 718, over what timescale he expects NHS foundation trusts and trusts to move to new and more preventative models of care as envisaged in NHS England's Five Year Forward View; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: NHS England and its national partners have announced a new programme to focus on the acceleration of the design and implementation of new models of care in the National Health Service, as set out in the Five Year Forward View. The programme is intended to give local areas flexibility in adopting the model appropriate to their local needs and context, rather than mandating a one-size-fits-all approach.   Individual organisations and partnerships, including those with the voluntary sector, were invited to apply to be ‘vanguard’ sites. The first wave of sites will be announced later this year. The intention is that these sites will not only transform care for patients in their areas, but also demonstrate and spread best practice that benefits the rest of the NHS.

NHS: Drugs

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has conducted a study on the viability of a New Medicines Fund for England.

George Freeman: We have no plans to do so.   On 12 January 2015, NHS England announced that it plans to further increase the level of investment for drugs in the Cancer Drugs Fund to an expected £340 million in 2015-16.   The Government is implementing all of the commitments in the 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) on improving access to innovative medicines commensurate with the outcomes they offer patients. In addition, NHS England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry are pressing ahead with plans to maximise the benefits of the PPRS by improving access to and optimising the use of medicines to improve patient outcomes.   More generally, we have launched an ‘Innovative Medicines and Medical Technology Review’ of the pathways for the development, assessment, and adoption of innovative medicines and medical technology. This review will consider how to speed up access for National Health Service patients to cost-effective new diagnostics, medicines and devices. The review will examine the pathway from ‘first in human’ trials, through licensing and health technology appraisal, to commissioning and clinical practice. It will set out both short and long-term options for action by Government and relevant bodies, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NHS England, and mark a major contribution to the policy debate.

NHS: Cost Effectiveness

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cumulative efficiency factor for NHS foundation trusts and trusts in 2015-16, taking into account (a) the proposed 3.8 per cent efficiency factor, (b) the proposed marginal rate for specialised services, (c) the marginal rate for urgent and emergency care and (d) other cost pressures; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 10 February 2015, to question 223008.

Doctors: Disciplinary Proceedings

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost was to the NHS of paying doctors who had been excluded from practice on full pay in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Dr Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected centrally.

Doctors: Disciplinary Proceedings

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many exclusions of doctors under the Maintaining High Professional Standards framework have been for reasons relating to their non-clinical behaviour.

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS doctors are excluded from practice under the Maintaining High Professional Standards framework.

Dr Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected centrally.   Under Directions to the NHS Litigation Authority, the National Clinical Assessment Service function has a responsibility to monitor and report on national suspensions and exclusions under the Maintaining High Professional Standards framework.   The National Clinical Assessment Service has provided the following information. In their most recent published report ‘Use of exclusion and suspension from work in England’ of June 2014, which refers to financial year to 31 March 2014 they recorded 148 exclusions for doctors with a mean duration of 41 weeks based on 75 cases.   The information provided does not provide a breakdown of clinical and non-clinical behaviour.   The classification used is that the primary recorded reasons for exclusion are conduct (119 cases (80%)) and clinical (29 cases (20%)).

Strokes

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding is provided from government sources for research into (a) intracerebral haemorrhage and (b) subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what stroke research projects receive funding from (a) his Department and (b) other government sources.

George Freeman: The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds extensive research on stroke and spent £26.3 million in this area in 2013/14.   Details of research projects funded through programmes managed by the NIHR, including projects relating to stroke, can be found on the NIHR website at:   http://www.nihr.ac.uk/research/programme-studies.htm   Details of current and completed research training and career development awards funded by the NIHR, including awards relating to stroke, can be found on the NIHR website at:   http://www.nihr.ac.uk/research/career-development-awards-funded.htm   Details of stroke research studies hosted by the NIHR Clinical Research Network can be found on the UK Clinical Research Network portfolio database at:   http://england.ukcrn.org.uk/Portfolio.aspx?Level1=6   Details of current and recent research projects relating to stroke funded by Research Councils and Innovate UK can be found on the Research Councils UK Gateway to Research available at:   http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk   The Medical Research Council (MRC) spends around £4.1 million a year on research into stroke.   Projects recently funded by the MRC include research at the University of Birmingham into the use of motorised jointed levers attached to the patient’s arm or hand to improve upper limb function in stroke survivors, research at University College London on language impairment and recovery after stroke, and research at the University of Edinburgh into how the function of the protein TREM-2 influences the balance between toxic and protective inflammation that occurs as a result of stroke.   Some Government-funded projects in stroke have relevance to intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) and subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH).   The NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme is funding a £2.5 million trial of tranexamic acid for hyperacute primary ICH, and a £1.3 million surgical trial in traumatic ICH.   The NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre has a research sub-theme on acute vascular syndromes including SAH.   The MRC is funding research in Oxford investigating the genetic contribution to ICH. This project uses the China Kadoorie Biobank study of 0.5 million people to investigate 5,000 confirmed cases of ICH and 10,000 controls, in order to identify genetic variants linked to ICH.   The MRC is also funding research in Oxford investigating the impact of early brain injury on outcomes after SAH using magnetic resonance imaging, and in Manchester investigating how to reduce the incidence of delayed cerebral ischaemia following SAH.

Health Services

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many commissioning fact sheets have been produced by NHS England since 2013; and what plans NHS England has to produce a commissioning fact sheet for dermatology services.

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a National Clinical Director for Dermatology.

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the next review of strategic clinical networks will be undertaken; and if he will consider the merits of creating a dermatology-focused strategic clinical network.

Norman Lamb: Since 1 April 2013, NHS England has published information factsheets for a range of purposes. The main factsheet resource for commissioners has been produced to provide the costs and benefits of 25 specific interventions to reduce premature deaths:   www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/forward-view/sop/red-prem-mort/factsheets/   Although there are currently no plans to produce a commissioning factsheet for dermatology, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance in areas such as eczema and psoriasis continues to help commissioners to deliver high quality dermatological care.   With regard to strategic clinical networks (SCNs), the first SCNs were chosen by NHS England using criteria developed with input from a broad range of stakeholders. These are initial groupings and it is expected that they will be expanded in the future. NHS England is undertaking a review of the role, purpose and function of the sub-regional infrastructure that it funds, which is focussed on supporting commissioners and providers to improve the quality of services including SCNs. This review is ongoing and is expected to reach its conclusions by the end of March.   NHS England currently has no plans to introduce a National Clinical Director for Dermatology. However, NHS England has established a clinical reference group for specialised dermatology to bring together clinical experts, patients and carers to share best practice and improve services for patients.

Nurses

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which hospitals have not met their staffing requirements for registered nurse day hours in each month since May 2010.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The information is not available for the period requested. As part of our drive to make the National Health Service more transparent NHS England introduced mandatory reporting of monthly actual and planned nursing and midwifery staffing levels by hospital wards in May 2014.   In November 2013 the National Quality Board (NQB) supported by Jane Cummings, the Chief Nursing Officer for England, published guidance on How to ensure the right people, with the right skills, are in the right place at the right time’. The guidance specifies that the skill mix of the workforce should reflect the patient care needs and local requirements, considering the experience and capabilities of the workforce employed. The skill mix should reflect outcome indicators such as incidents of harm, patient experience and staff experience. Each ward has to identify the appropriate knowledge and nursing skill mix required in the team to meet the nursing needs of the ward's patients, with registered nurses remaining accountable for the overall care and safety of patients.   NHS trust boards are required to scrutinise exception reports on any variations in actual versus planned, as part of the Board’s responsibility for assuring safe staffing. Reports to Trust Boards must meet the requirements set out in the NQB guidance. Trusts will triangulate the safe staffing fill rate with other indicators for example outcome indicators of safety – levels of harm, staff and patient feedback. Boards must be able to demonstrate to their commissioners that robust systems and processes are in place to assure themselves that the nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability in their organisations is sufficient. These staffing decisions will then be subject to external scrutiny and challenge by commissioners, regulators and the public, and inspection by the Chief Inspector of Hospitals.

Health: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Public Health England plans to publish its analysis of how the public health grant has been spent by each local authority.

Jane Ellison: Department for Communities and Local Government published full detail of the amounts spent against the public health grant by local authorities in 2013/14, and recorded in Revenue Outturn forms, on 30 November 2014.   Public Health England is planning to publish a more in depth analysis of the figures at a national level during March 2015.

Smoking

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2014 to Question 218412, how much was spent on NHS smoking cessation services in 2013-14.

Jane Ellison: As 5% of local authorities (LAs) did not provide a full dataset for 2013-14, a national full year figure was not produced. The total spend for the year which excludes the 5% of LAs is £79.7 million. This total is not directly comparable with previous years’ spend.   Data for those LAs which made a return can be found on tab 4.7 “People successfully quit, total expenditure and cost per quitter, by Region, Strategic Health Authority and Primary Care Trust, April 2012 to March 2013” of the data sheet “Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services, England - April 2013 to March 2014” which can be accessed here:   www.hscic.gov.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=15174&returnid=3945   All published data for stop smoking services is available from the Health and Social Care Information Centre website:   www.hscic.gov.uk/lifestyles

NHS: Productivity

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what change there has been in the productivity of the NHS in England in each of the last three years for which information is available.

Jane Ellison: The most comprehensive and reliable estimates of productivity for the National Health Service in England are compiled by the Centre for Health Economics at the University of York. Their published series provides data from 1998/99 onwards and the latest available data relates to 2011/12, published in January 2014.   Total factor productivity, adjusted for quality change, was -1.25% in 2009/10, +3.21% in 2010/11 and +2.13% in 2011/12. This is the first time that the series had shown two consecutive years of positive productivity growth.   The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles a similar series for the whole of the United Kingdom, on a calendar year basis. The latest ONS results were published in January 2015 and show productivity growth rates for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 as -1.3%, 0.6%, 3.5%, 0.9% respectively.

Alcoholic Drinks: Advertising

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has conducted into the effect on public health of alcohol advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Jane Ellison: The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR). The SPHR is conducting a programme of research from June 2013 to March 2017 on reducing alcohol-related health harms in an English context. This includes research on aspects of the impact of alcohol advertising on alcohol consumption. Details of the research programme are available on the SPHR website at:   http://sphr.nihr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/NIHR-SPHR-Alcohol-programme-summary-Nov-2014.pdf   Researchers supported by the SPHR have contributed to research on industry-driven marketing influences on young people’s drinking behaviour. Findings were published in the journal Addiction in 2014.   The Behaviour and Health Research Unit (BHRU) at the University of Cambridge is part-funded by the Department. The BHRU has contributed to research on exposure of children and adolescents to alcohol marketing on social media websites. Findings were published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism in 2014.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost of treating alcohol-related illnesses in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison: Estimates have been made of the cost to the National Health Service of alcohol related harm at around £2.7 billion per year in 2006-07 and £3.5 billion per year in 2009-10.   Work is under way in the Department to produce estimates for more recent years.

Alcoholic Drinks

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will review the effect of the regulation of alcohol (a) packaging and (b) advertising on public health.

Jane Ellison: We have asked Public Health England to provide a report to Government in spring 2015 on the public health impact of alcohol and the evidence-base for actions to reduce health harms. We expect that any evidence-base for the impact of labelling and advertising on public health should be included.

Alcoholic Drinks: Packaging

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the adoption of standardised packaging for alcohol.

Jane Ellison: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 29 January 2015 to Question 221956. That question is the only representation received on the adoption of standardised packaging for alcohol.

Breast Cancer

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received from NHS trusts on difficulties experienced in recruiting breast radiologists.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Secretary of State has not received any representation from National Health Service trusts on difficulties experienced in recruiting breast radiologists.

Breast Cancer

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of breast radiologists employed by NHS trusts.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of clinical radiologists specialising in mammography and diagnostic breast cancer procedures employed by NHS trusts.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The latest monthly workforce statistics, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), provides information on the numbers of clinical radiologists working in the National Health Service in England, however it is not possible to break this data down into sub specialties.   There are currently 3,789 (full-time equivalent) doctors with a specialty of clinical radiology working in the NHS, an increase of 15% (497 full-time equivalent) since May 2010.   It is for local employers to determine the workforce based on the needs of their local community and they are best placed to do so.   Health Education England’s Workforce plan confirms an increase in Clinical Radiology training posts by 16 in 2015-16. This continues to build on the 14 additional posts commissioned in 2014-15.   The Society of Radiographers may be able to supply more information on radiographers. Their website is available at: www.sor.org/

Breast Cancer

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will review the capacity of NHS trusts to provide specialist mammography services; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: NHS England has been working with Public Health England, the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) and the British Society of Breast Radiology on this matter. The RCR is planning to undertake a survey this spring of all breast imaging services to evaluate the current and future work force and service needs. We will work with Health Education England to support workforce development and change as needed for this area of radiology.

Radiography

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of radiologists entering into training in each of the last five years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Prior to the establishment of Health Education England (HEE) on 1 April 2013, national recruitment to clinical radiology specialty training posts was managed by the London postgraduate medical deanery.   In 2013 HEE advertised and filled 192 clinical radiology positions all of which were released by new Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) holders.   In 2014 HEE advertised and filled 183 positions representing 14 new posts and 169 posts released by new CCT holders.   This level of training and associated CCT output has enabled the clinical radiology workforce to grow on average by over 70 full time equivalent (FTE) consultants a year between 2009 and 2013 (from 2,278 FTE to 2,561 FTE - Health and Social Care Information Centre Annual Workforce Census 2013).

Cancer: Drugs

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on the future re-evaluation of the Cancer Drugs Fund list.

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when there have been discussions since 12 January 2015 between members of the Chemotherapy Clinical Reference Group and clinicians on the breast cancer drugs that are to be removed on 12 March 2015 from the Cancer Drugs Fund list; and what the content of those discussions was.

George Freeman: Ministers have regular discussions with NHS England on a range of issues, including the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF).   NHS England has advised that the Chemotherapy Clinical Reference Group (CRG) met on 9 February 2015 when a paper summarising the outcome of the recent CDF panel was discussed. The CRG membership is made up predominately of clinical members including two breast cancer oncologists.

Tobacco: Packaging

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to lay before Parliament regulations on the standardisation of packaging of tobacco products.

Jane Ellison: The Government has today laid regulations for the introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco products.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many block contracts are in place for mental health services in England; and what the aggregate value is of those contracts.

Norman Lamb: The information requested is not collected for mental health services commissioned by clinical commissioning groups. In 2014/15, the value of specialised mental health services was £1,757 billion. There were 93 block contracts in specialised mental health services representing 19% of the total value of specialised mental health services.

Medicine: Research

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the total amount spent from government sources on research into (a) stroke, (b) cancer and (c) coronary heart disease.

George Freeman: Spend on research funded directly by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is categorised by Health Research Classification System health categories. NIHR expenditure on research infrastructure and systems where spend cannot be attributed to health categories is excluded. In 2013/14, the NIHR spent £26.3 million in the category ‘stroke’, £129.9 million in the category ‘cancer’, and £46.3 million in the category ‘cardiovascular’ (including coronary heart disease - CHD).   Research Councils UK has provided the following information on expenditure in 2013/14.   £000s  StrokeCancerCHDArts and Humanities Research Council-34-Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)32310,2691,829Economic and Social Research Council1,3762,1771,205Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)---Medical Research Council (MRC)4,14079,90026,300Natural Environment Research Council---Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)-395-   The BBSRC does not fund research directly relating to understanding/treating specific human diseases. The underpinning health research that the BBSRC supports seeks to provide a better understanding of what makes a healthy biological system - and the key moderators of this health (both positive and negative) – and also informs strategies to help maintain resilient health across the life-course and reduce the risk of emergence of diseases typically associated with age-related health decline. In the context of stroke/cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer this may include basic bioscience of angiogenesis/tissue repair, inflammation, cell cycle/signalling/molecular transport, and immune system functioning, and how these processes operate and are influenced (e.g. by genetics and environmental factors such as diet and exercise) across the lifecourse. The BBSRC figures provided are based on examples where specific linkages can be made from the basic bioscience to potential applicability to stroke/CVD and cancer research, but there will be a wider body of more indirectly linked bioscience that may also contribute to developing important baseline understanding.   The EPSRC invested £59 million in 2013/14 in research to develop new technologies that have applications across healthcare from diagnosis and treatment to rehabilitation, and also supports a much wider portfolio of research that underpins advances in medical science. The EPSRC supports basic research which delivers new techniques and technologies, ultimately delivering solutions that underpin the healthcare and life sciences sector, including the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries and the National Health Service. Around 25% of the £4 billion EPSRC portfolio is of relevance to healthcare and the life sciences.   MRC cancer research expenditure shown in the table is taken from National Cancer Research Institute data for 2013.   In addition to the expenditure shown in the table, the STFC also makes support available through its large facilities. For instance, cancer-related research is carried out using ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) in support of the University of Liverpool, who have an EPSRC grant. The grant pays the marginal staff cost and the running cost of the ALICE facility.   In 2013/14 Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency has invested in research concerning stroke, cancer and CHD. The following table details spend for each condition. Figures include research into detection technologies and post-surgery therapies.   £000s  StrokeCancerCHDInnovate UK97218,728345

Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many operations were performed by the Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: Information is not available in the format requested.   Information on the number of Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs) when any procedure took place in Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for the years 2010/11 to 2013/14 is shown in the table below:   YearFCEs2010-1149,6382011-1252,6512012-1352,5642013-1453,869 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)   Notes:  The above information is not a count of people but a count of FCEs, as the same person may have had more than one episode of care within the same time period.An FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end.Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.Data includes the number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 4 prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in a HES record.A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one procedure field of the record. Note that more procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure. For example, patients undergoing a ‘cataract operation’ would tend to have at least two procedures – removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one – counted in a single episode.A provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (e.g. National Health Service trust or primary care trust). Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of data-flows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using this data as the counts may be lower than true figures.HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Conversely, apparent increases in activity may be due to improved recording of diagnosis or procedure information.Note that HES include activity ending in the year in question and run from April to March, e.g. 2012-13 includes activity ending between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Business: Procurement

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban large firms requiring pay to stay agreements from companies seeking to remain or become their approved suppliers.

Matthew Hancock: The Department is aware that the practice of suppliers having to pay to join or remain on a supplier list can cause significant difficulties. As a result, the Government has already taken action to prohibit this practice in certain circumstances.   Our recent consultation, which closed on 2 February, sought to understand the prevalence and impact of this practice in more detail. We will provide a summary of responses shortly. This consultation will strengthen the evidence we have on supplier lists, and will allow us to understand the necessary scope, and implications of possible further changes. This will ensure that any action is appropriately targeted and achieves real change on the ground.

Trade Agreements

Mr John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent progress has been made on the Trade in Services Agreement.

Matthew Hancock: The Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) negotiations have now entered their eleventh round, with ten negotiation rounds completed by the end of 2014. The talks started formally in March 2013. Participants agreed on a basic text in September 2013 and most participants have indicated which of their services markets they are prepared to open and by how much. There is no set deadline for ending the negotiations but the talks are progressing well, with broad consensus across many areas. Full details of progress in the negotiation and the EU approach can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/tisa/

Exports: Middle East

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 222938, regarding the standard individual export licence for equipment employing cryptography and software for equipment employing cryptography to the value of £7.7 billion approved by his Department for export to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, what the reasons were for the surrender of that licence by the exporter in August 2014; what role was played by his Department in the surrender of that licence; and what the reasons were for his Department's approval of that licence in the first quarter of 2013 when it was then surrendered unused by the exporter 18 months later.

Matthew Hancock: Exporters are not obliged to give reasons for surrendering licences. This was a purely commercial decision by the company and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills played no part in the decision to surrender the licence.   As is the case with all applications, this application was assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria in the usual way, taking into account the nature of the goods and the intended end-use. The application was for electronic components and circuit boards, which are specifically designed for building mobile phone networks for public use. The proposed export did not breach any of the Criteria and therefore the licence was granted.

Small Businesses: Billing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to enforce prompt payments to small and medium-sized enterprises by large companies.

Matthew Hancock: The Government is taking forward a suite of measures to tackle prompt payment.   Through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, currently before Parliament, we will introduce measures to improve transparency on payment practices and policies. Increased transparency, through a tough and transparent new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies, will help take significant steps to addressing the current imbalance in economic power between small and large contracting parties. Our consultation on draft secondary regulations to underpin these measures closed on 2 February. We will publish a summary of responses shortly.   The Government is currently seeking views on how to best give representative bodies wider powers to be able to challenge grossly unfair payment practices on behalf of members. The discussion paper is available online and is open until 9 March.   The Government is also working to strengthen the impact of the Prompt Payment Code. We are currently considering proposals, including introducing a maximum payment term for Code signatories, more rigorous monitoring of signatory behaviour, and the enforcement of tougher sanctions on bad payers. We will announce our proposals in Spring.   These measures will drive forward a shift in payment culture that will make it unacceptable for large companies in positions of extreme bargaining imbalances to exploit smaller suppliers.

Offshore Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to page 10 of the Government's publication entitled UK Oil and Gas Industrial Strategy, what revisions have been (a) made or (b) planned to the UK's Supply Chain Code of Practice in the offshore oil and gas industry since July 2014.

Matthew Hancock: There have been no revisions nor are there planned revisions to the UK's Supply Chain Code of Practice for the offshore oil and gas industry since July 2014.

Offshore Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to page 11 of the UK Government's publication entitled, Oil and Gas Industrial Strategy, what funding has been allocated to date to companies in the offshore industry supply chain through the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative during the current period of low oil prices.

Matthew Hancock: The time period in question is covered by current round of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI). AMSCI 2014 has yet to announce any successful bids as the assessment phase is still on-going. Decisions are made by an Independent Investment Board.

Offshore Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps have been taken since July 2014 to revise the UK Oil and Gas Industrial Strategy: government and industry in partnership; and when that Strategy is next due for review.

Matthew Hancock: The Oil and Gas Industrial Strategy is under constant review by the Oil and Gas Industry Council. The Council met in November 2014 and is due to meet next in March 2015.

Personal Care Services

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information his Department holds on the number of people (a) qualified and (b) qualified at level 3 as hairdressers and barbers.

Nick Boles: Information on the total number of people in the population with a Hairdressing or Barbering qualification is not held centrally. The Department only holds data on government-funded learners.   Table 1 shows the number of non-apprenticeship learners who achieved a Hairdressing or Barbering qualification in the 2013/14 academic year, and at what level.   Table 2 shows the number of learners who achieved an apprenticeship in Hairdressing or Barbering in the 2013/14 academic year, and at what level.  Table 1. Adult (19+) FE & Skills (excluding Apprenticeships) Achievements by Level; Hairdressing and Barbering (2013/14 Full Year)  AchievementsAll FE and Skills (excluding apprenticeships)33,680of which: Below Level 28,850Level 217,810Level 37,650Level 4+60 Notes 1) This table includes Workplace Learning, Community Learning and Education and Training provision (including the Offender Learning and Skills Service) taken at General Further Education Colleges (including Tertiary), Sixth Form Colleges, Special Colleges, Specialist Colleges and External Institutions.   Table 2. All Age Learner Achievements in the Hairdressing and Barbering Apprenticeship Frameworks, by Level (2013/14 Full Year)  Intermediate (Level 2)Advanced (Level 3)Higher (Level 4+)Total AchievementsBarbering1,370350-1,710Hairdressing6,1303,450-9,570 Notes1) Figures represent the number of learners who have achieved an apprenticeship framework, as opposed to the number of framework achievements, in the 2013/14 academic year. Total achievements will therefore differ from those published for frameworks. Framework achievements are published here https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/378242/apprenticeships-achievements-by-sase-framework.xls

Ordnance Survey

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the staff of the Ordnance Survey being transferred into a government company will have their terms and conditions protected by TUPE.

Matthew Hancock: All current employees will be covered by TUPE regulations, and will be transferred to the Government Company on their existing terms and conditions with their period of continuous employment preserved.

Groceries Code Adjudicator

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward proposals to extend the powers of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to consider complaints from primary producers.

Jo Swinson: The jurisdiction of the Groceries Code Adjudicator is defined by the Groceries Supply Code of Practice. The Code governs the commercial relationships between the ten largest UK supermarkets and their direct suppliers, and reflects the findings of the Competition Commission’s market investigation into the supermarket sector conducted between 2006 and 2008.   There will be a statutory review of the performance of the Adjudicator next year in accordance with section 15 of the Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013.

BAFTA

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what funding BAFTA receives from his Department and its agencies; and what diversity guidance and requirements accompany that funding.

Mr Edward Vaizey: In April 2014, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) received a grant from Innovate UK of £358,000 for a collaborative research and development project, REVQUAL. This followed an Innovate UK competition on innovation in cross-platform production in digital media, on which information is publicly available: https://interact.innovateuk.org/guidance-for-applicants.

International Assistance

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to ensure policy coherence between trade policy and international poverty reduction with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Matthew Hancock: Trade openness is a key driver of economic growth, which is essential for poverty reduction. Trade will therefore play a central role in the Means of Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. We are working with colleagues across Whitehall to develop an ambitious proposal for trade commitments in the Post-2015 agenda. These commitments range from securing increased market access for low income countries to ensuring that they can make the most of this access through tackling 'behind the border' obstacles to trade.

Crans Montana Forum: Western Sahara

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has received an invitation to the Crans Montana forum in Dakhla, occupied Western Sahara; and whether he plans to send a representative to that forum.

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the declaration by the African Union that the Crans Montana Forum in Dakhla, occupied Western Sahara, should be cancelled.

Matthew Hancock: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has received and declined an invitation to this forum and my Department does not plan to send a representative. We are aware of reports that the African Union has called for the forum to be cancelled but we do not intend to make any assessment.

Ordnance Survey

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings he and Ministers in his Department had with the Prospect and Public and Commercial Services trades unions before taking the decision to change Ordnance Survey from a trading fund to a Government-owned company; and whether he plans further such meetings.

Matthew Hancock: Ordnance Survey senior management have led on discussions with the trade unions and other Ordnance Survey staff members as the project has developed. This dialogue took place throughout 2014, and will continue as the project reaches its conclusion through regular meetings.

Overseas Investment: India

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent progress he has made on UK participation in the Mumbai/Bangalore Economic Corridor; and if he will place in the Library the feasibility report for that project and other related studies.

Matthew Hancock: Her Majesty’s Government continues to engage with India on the Bangalore/Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC). BMEC was most recently discussed on 11 February 2015 in a meeting between Chief Executive of UKTI, Dominic Jermey, and Indian Commerce Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman.   The feasibility report has not yet been completed by Egis, a French company commissioned by Government of India. The report will be the property of the Government of India and it will be their decision as to how it circulated when complete.

Utilities: Billing

Mr Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect on consumers of decisions by utility companies to introduce charges for receiving information and bills in paper format.

Jo Swinson: Charges for a paper bill must reflect only the additional costs actually incurred by the business concerned for providing this service. Consumers who believe they have been overcharged should consult the Citizens’ Advice Consumer Helpline on 03454 04 05 06 (www.adviceguide.org.uk).   In many instances, consumers could re-negotiate or find an alternative provider to obtain better value for money overall. Especially for financially or otherwise vulnerable customers, paper bills will not always be the best choice - but any consumer can obtain information from Citizens’ Advice on how to find the best tariff for their needs.

Ordnance Survey

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department plans a full or part privatisation of the Ordnance Survey to result from the change of operating model for that organisation.

Matthew Hancock: No. The change to a Government–owned Company is operational in nature, designed to improve the performance of the organisation. There are no plans to privatise Ordnance Survey.

Property Searches

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to local authorities of the proposed takeover of responsibility for LLC1 searches by the Land Registry.

Matthew Hancock: All costs of the conversion from the various databases held locally at the moment, whether they involve paper, microfiche or any other format to a digitised process, will be met by Land Registry. Whilst costs to local authorities will be taken into account by Land Registry, they have yet to be broken down into greater detail at this stage, so as not to prejudice Land Registry’s commercial interests in respect of future procurement activity.

Working Hours: EU Law

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with the EU Commission on the UK's implementation of the Working Time Directive.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is in regular contact with the European Commission on a range of issues. In 2014 the European Commission requested national reports on the practical implementation of the Working Time Directive. The Government provided its response on 31 October 2014, setting out recent developments in case law, and evidence of the impacts of the Working Time Directive. That evidence was recently published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389676/bis-14-1287-the-impact-of-the-working-time-regulations-on-the-uk-labour-market-a-review-of-evidence.pdf   The response re-iterated the Government’s priorities for the future of the Working Time Directive. They are to maintain the economy-wide individual right to opt-out of the 48 hour working week, and seek more flexibility following EU court rulings around on-call time, compensatory rest and holiday pay.

Rio Tinto Group

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether UK Export Finance has provided (a) loan guarantees and (b) low interest loans to Rio Tinto plc to support any of its investments or operations overseas in the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: UK Export Finance has not provided loan guarantees or low interest loans to Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.

Land Registry

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the potential (a) number of job losses at and (b) redundancy costs to local authorities as a result of the proposed takeover of responsibility for LLC1 searches by the Land Registry.

Matthew Hancock: At this stage it is not possible to quantify whether there will be any redundancies at local authorities or if so, how many there could be. Land Registry’s current research suggests approximately 850 local authority staff deal with Local Land Charges as all or part of their roles. Land Registry acknowledges the possibility that there may be redundancies among these staff, but they will typically have additional responsibilities alongside their Local Land Charges role. Further work is required to understand exactly how much time is spent by each individual officer on the Local Land Charges service. Land Registry will, of course, fulfil any TUPE obligations if applicable in any particular case.

Apprentices

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of apprenticeships to be created over each of the next five years and (b) the cost of those apprenticeships.

Nick Boles: No estimate has been made of the number or cost of future apprenticeships. Apprenticeships are a demand led programme and therefore not subject to government targets or projections.   The latest information on apprenticeship starts and participation can be found in the Statistical First Release: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held.   The average apprenticeship programme cost to government of learners who completed (or left) in the 2013/14 academic year is estimated at £5,300 for 16-18 year olds and £2,000 for learners aged 19 and over. Please note that this is the government contribution only and does not include any employer contributions.

Students: Finance

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people with limited or discretionary leave to remain have had applications for students loans or grants rejected in each year since 2008.

Greg Clark: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Apprentices

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of raising the participation age on the take up of apprenticeships by 16 to 19 year olds.

Nick Boles: The latest participation data shows there was an increase in the proportion of 16-18 year olds taking an apprenticeship in 2013/14. The proportion of 16 year olds - the first cohort affected by the raising of the participation age (RPA) – was unchanged. Participation data for 2014/15 is not yet available   There are a number of factors that may affect the take up of apprenticeships, and no assessment has been made of the distinct impact of the introduction of RPA.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Drugs

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people serving in the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Royal Marines, (c) Royal Air Force and (d) Army were convicted of (i) possession of and (ii) supplying illegal drugs in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 21 January 2015



Drug use is unacceptable in the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence has a policy of Compulsory Drug Testing which seeks to reinforce that message. Providing a positive result, indicating the presence of illegal drugs, will almost certainly result in an administrative discharge. Positive rates in the Armed Forces over the last few years average less than 0.5%, which is significantly lower than the latest British Crime survey (2013/14) which reports one in 11 (8.8%) of adults aged 16 to 59 have taken an illegal drug in the last year. The following tables provide information on the number of convictions in the Military Court Service in each requested year. Numbers provided for the category of ‘possession’ include convictions by a Commanding Officer at a Summary Hearing; offences relating to the supply of illegal drugs cannot be dealt with at Summary Hearing level.  Convictions for possession of drugs Service20102011201220132014Navy-----Army101010--RAF----- Convictions for supplying illegal drugs Service20102011201220132014Army----- ‘-’ Five or less. Note: Figures have been rounded to 10. There were no relevant convictions in either category among Royal Marines personnel and also no convictions for supplying illegal drugs among Navy and RAF personnel.

Vetting

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of applications for (a) security clearance and counter-terrorist checks and (b) developed vetting have not met the performance targets set for DBS for the processing of such applications in each of the last 12 months.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 10 February 2015



The information requested is given in the tables attached.  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26 January 2015 to PQ 221648. 



222843 - Performance Targets on Vetting Applicatio
(Word Document, 85 KB)




221648 - Vetting
(Word Document, 70.5 KB)

Navy: Plymouth

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of the fence in Barne Barton proposed in Plymouth City Council planning application 14/02413/FUL.

Anna Soubry: This project is still subject to the planning application process. I am withholding the estimated cost as its release could prejudice the commercial interests of the Department.

Armed Forces Covenant

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on (a) television, (b) newspaper, (c) online, (d) radio and (e) other forms of advertising using the phrase Armed Forces Covenant since January 2012.

Anna Soubry: There were no expenses captured centrally. If there are expenses of this kind, they would be at a very local level, and would be extremely difficult to trace.

Armed Forces: Mortgages

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the advertising budget was for the Forces Help to Buy campaign in the last 24 months; and how much of that budget has been spent on (a) television, (b) newspaper, (c) online, (d) radio and (e) other forms of advertising using the phrase Forces Help to Buy in that period.

Anna Soubry: There is no advertising budget for the Forces Help to Buy scheme. The scheme has been communicated through routine internal channels to inform Service personnel of the support available to them.

Afghanistan

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many guests he plans to invite to the service of commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral on 13 March 2015; and what proportion of those guests are family members of service personnel who died during operations in Afghanistan.

Anna Soubry: Approximately 2,000 invitations will be issued, of which over 900 have so far been allocated to the families of those who lost their lives in the conflict. A further 900 or so have been allocated to Service personnel and veterans.

Afghanistan

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many family members of each of the service personnel who died in Afghanistan will be able to attend the service of commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral on 13 March 2015.

Anna Soubry: Invitations have been extended to the Next of Kin and one guest.

Iraq

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Written Statement of 10 February 2015, HCWS273, on gifting of counter-IED equipment to Iraq, what protection will be provided to the members of the Armed Forces being deployed as part of the C-IED training package in Erbil.

Michael Fallon: UK Armed Forces personnel deploying to deliver the C-IED training in Erbil will conduct a comprehensive package of pre-deployment training and will be equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment. They will be armed for self defence purposes and the deployment will include a dedicated force protection element. Coalition partners will also provide force protection at the training location.

Iraq

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Written Statement of 10 February 2015, HCWS273, on gifting of counter-IED equipment to Iraq, how many members of the British Armed Forces are being deployed as part of the C-IED training package in Erbil; and what the time frame is for their deployment.

Michael Fallon: The UK will have around 30 personnel delivering counter IED training in Northern Iraq at Erbil, with a further two working in a supporting role in the Coalition headquarters. Subject to Parliamentary approval, training is due to commence in March and personnel will deliver training packages for at least six months, depending on demand.

Iraq

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Written Statement of 10 February 2015, HCWS273, on gifting of counter-IED equipment to Iraq, what ranks the members of the Armed Forces being deployed as part of the C-IED training package in Erbil are.

Michael Fallon: The ranks of the UK Armed Forces Personnel being deployed as part of the C-IED training package in Erbil will range from Private to Major.

Nuclear Weapons: Transport

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a list of each of the parliamentary constituencies through which nuclear warheads are transported to and from RNAD Coulport, omitting all details of travel routes, times and frequencies.

Mr Philip Dunne: It is Ministry of Defence policy not to comment on the routes used to transport nuclear weapons as to do so would prejudice national security.Annex A of the Local Authority and Emergency Services Information document, however, lists all local authorities that Defence nuclear material, including both nuclear weapons and special nuclear material, may travel through or fly over. The document is published on the Gov.uk website at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-emergency-services-information. The corresponding list of Parliamentary constituencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Afghanistan

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2015 to Question 222429, whether any of the RAF personnel in Afghanistan support RPAS operations.

Mr Mark Francois: No RAF personnel in Afghanistan are supporting Remotely Piloted Air Systems operations.

Military Bands: Training

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of providing Phase two training for the Royal Air Force Music Services at the Headquarters Music Services, Northolt in 2013-14.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel undertook phase two training for the Royal Marine Band Service at the Royal Marine School of Music in 2013-14.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel undertook phase two training for the regular army band at Kneller Hall in 2013-14.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of providing Phase two training for the Royal Marine Band Service at the Royal  Marine School of Music in 2013-14.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel undertook Phase two training for Royal Air Force Music Services at the Headquarters Music Services, Northolt in 2013-14.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of providing phase two training for the regular Army band at Kneller Hall in 2013-14.

Anna Soubry: The requested detail for Financial Year 2013-14 is provided below: Number of personnel whocompleted Phase Two trainingCost of providing PhaseTwo trainingRoyal Marines Schoolof Music (Portsmouth)22Information is not heldcentrally and could beprovided only atdisproportionate costRoyal Military School of Music (Army, Kneller Hall)66£2.8 million (approx)No personnel undertook phase two training with the RAF Music Services. The RAF recruits are fully trained musicians who undertake a rigorous audition process and are only admitted once their playing ability is proven.

AWE Burghfield

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officers of the rank of inspector and above at AWE Burghfield are currently under investigation.

Anna Soubry: No officer of the rank of Inspector or above stationed at AWE Burghfield is currently under investigation.

Ukraine

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press notice issued by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on its website on 9 February 2015, whether the proposed Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Ukrainian governments will entail the UK Government guaranteeing any possible assistance in the pursuit of Ukrainian independence.

Michael Fallon: The Memorandum of Understanding, once signed, will provide a framework for our defence engagement with Ukraine.

Navy: Females

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many women are employed full-time in the Royal Navy.

Anna Soubry: As at 1 January 2015, there were 3,060 women employed in the Naval Service.This figure represents trained and untrained Regular personnel and those on Full Time Reserve Service, and has been rounded in accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy.

Golf

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value is of each of the golf courses owned by his Department.

Anna Soubry: The value of the golf courses would depend on market conditions at the time of any sale, therefore this information is not held by the Ministry of Defence.

Household Cavalry Regiment

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria he is using to decide the future location of the Household Cavalry Regiment.

Anna Soubry: There are no plans to move the Household Cavalry Regiment from their current location in Combermere Barracks, Windsor.A study is being conducted into the future use of the Department's central London estate, including the current location of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in Hyde Park Barracks. Any decision to relocate the Regiment will be based on the ability to deliver alternative facilities which meet the Regiment's operational and infrastructure requirements, and the demonstration of value for money for the Defence budget.

Armed Forces Covenant

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on strengthening the Armed Forces Covenant.

Anna Soubry: The Armed Forces Covenant annual report, laid before the house on 16 December 2014, sets out the tremendous progress that was made during 2014. For a summary of the key points I refer the hon. Member to the written statement provided by my right hon Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Fallon) on 16 December 2014, (Official Report, columns 82-83WS).



Hansard extract - Armed Forces Covenant
(Word Document, 33.5 KB)

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Strategic Defence and Security Review will address the issues identified in Joint Doctrinal Note 2/11, the UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

Michael Fallon: The next Strategic Defence and Security Review will be a matter for after the General Election.

Ebola

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to assist people affected by the Ebola outbbreak.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence supports the Department for International Development led effort in Sierra Leone. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence, has just returned from Sierra Leone where he has seen for himself the great work being undertaken by the Ministry of Defence to assist those affected by the outbreak. We have deployed around 1,200 personnel over the last six months which represents our largest current overseas deployment and the second largest contribution to the fight against Ebola after the US. We have overseen the construction of six Treatment Centres to deliver specialist care to Ebola patients, one of which – Kerrytown – includes a specialist unit staffed and managed by UK military personnel; we have constructed an Ebola Training Academy and trained over 4,000 local nationals in a variety of Ebola related roles; we have deployed the extremely capable RFA ARGUS and its three Merlin helicopters to increase our logistical capability; and we have engaged widely with our international partners to ensure the response in West Africa is – as it should be – a global effort.

Pensions

Mr Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects that a final decision will be made on the final pension age for the Ministry of Defence Police and Defence Fire and Rescue Services.

Anna Soubry: Discussions on the future arrangements for Ministry of Defence Police and Defence Fire and Rescue Service personnel pensions are still ongoing. I recognise that this is an important issue for both communities and I am therefore seeking to resolve it as soon as possible. This is however a complex matter which raises a number of cross-Departmental issues.Although no final decision has yet been taken, I hope to conclude this issue in the near future.

Army Reserve: Recruitment

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on recruitment to the Army Reserve.

Mr Julian Brazier: In the quarter to December 2014 the Army Reserve has seen 1,490 join its strength, an increase of 147% compared to the same quarter in 2013. We have unblocked the enlistment pipeline and are engaged in national and local marketing. Employers are signing up for awards for supporting their reservist employees. The upturn is gathering speed.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Social Rented Housing

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what was spent on the Decent Homes Programme in each year since 2005.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 27 October 2014



The last Administration failed to meet its Decent Homes target. It pledged in 2000 that: “We... are committed to ensuring that all social housing is of a decent standard within 10 years” (DETR, Quality and Choice: A Decent Home for All: The Housing Green Paper, April 2000, p.11). But 16 per cent of local authority homes were not decent by 2010.That last Government also cut the Decent Homes programme by £150 million in July 2009, cannibalising the housing programme to pay for other policies. I also observe the last Prime Minister planned to cut back housing investment, remarking before the general election: “Housing is essentially a private sector activity. Let's be honest about this... I don't see a need for us to continue with such a big renovation programme” (BBC Newsnight, 30 April 2010).However, the Coalition Government is investing £2.3 billion from 2011 to 2016 to improve the quality of existing social housing through the Decent Homes programme and large-scale voluntary transfer gap funding The funding is for clearing the backlog, and therefore is less than under the last Administration – as by intention, there should be an increasingly smaller number of homes to pay to refurbish.The table below shows spending since 2005.   £ million2004-05£5782005-06£8642006-07£8142007-08£1,0052008-09£1,0172009-10£1,0792010-11£7562011-12£4942012-13£5632013-14£6312014-15est. £532NB. The figure for 14-15 contains £15 million funding for South Tyneside which was brought forward from the 2015-16 allocation.The number of non-decent local authority dwellings across England has fallen from 292,000 in 1 April 2010 to 146,000 in April 2014, with a forecast of a further fall to 113,000 by April 2015. This shows clear progress in refurbishing these homes.

Housing Benefit

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of tenants in receipt of housing benefit in properties in the private rented sector with an energy efficiency rating of (a) A, (b) B, (c) C, (d) D, (e) E, (f) F and (g) G.

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the amount of housing benefit paid to properties in the private rented sector with an energy efficiency rating of (a) A, (b) B, (c) C, (d) D, (e) E, (d) F and (g) G.

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the number of tenants in receipt of housing benefit in properties in the private rented sector with an energy efficiency rating of (a) A, (b) B, (c) C, (d) D, (e) E, (d) F and (g) G.

Stephen Williams: The table below provides our estimates of the breakdown of the housing stock in 2012-13:  A or BCDEFGPrivate rented sector on housing benefit0.5%15.2%49.5%26.5%6.6%1.7%All private rented sector1.0%18.9%46.2%24.5%7.0%2.5% Those on housing benefit are less likely to be in the most energy inefficient housing (F and G), compared to the generality of the private rented sector. We do not hold figures on housing benefit payments by energy efficiency rating, nor do we hold specific figures on numbers of housing benefit properties by energy efficiency rating.

Private Rented Housing: Construction

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many applications under the Build to Rent scheme have been (a) received, (b) accepted and (c) refused from (i) private developers, (ii) housing associations, (iii) housing co-operatives, (iv) local authorities and (v) other entities.

Brandon Lewis: The Build to Rent fund provides development finance to support the creation of a purpose-built private rented sector, backed by institutional private investment. The fund offers finance on a commercial basis, with returns to Government being realised upon refinancing or sale of a developer’s interest to an institutional investor. The fund is market- led and the response has been strong. In the first round, the Homes and Communities Agency shortlisted 43 bids: 22 were approved subject to conditions being met (4 registered providers, 2 public limited companies, 12 private companies, 4 others); 16 bids were withdrawn during the process of scrutiny during the shortlisting; 5 bids from private companies were rejected. In the second round, 36 eligible bids were originally shortlisted (1 registered provider, 5 public listed companies, 26 private companies, 4 others); 3 private bids have been approved so far; the consideration of the other shortlisted bids is ongoing. We estimate that the Fund will this year be committed in full, and I can confirm that the programme is on course to meet our 10,000 homes target.

Recycling

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what comparative assessment he has made of the rate of recycling household waste by (a) Brighton and Hove City Council and (b) other local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: Recycling statistics are collected by DEFRA. In 2013-14, Brighton and Hove Council had a recycling rate (percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting) of 26 per cent. This is amongst the lowest 25 councils in England.To place this in context and to compare with similar, coastal towns, I would note that Bournemouth Borough Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council are recycling roughly half their household waste, and are providing a weekly collection of residual waste. This illustrates the scope for councils to have high recycling rates and still provide a weekly service for local taxpayers. Brighton and Hove Council has received financial support from my Department to help increase recycling, so we will want to see progress in these rates being improved. If the Council has failed to do so, then the ruling administration on the Council should rightly be held to account.

Domestic Waste

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average cost per home was of rubbish bin collections in each local authority in each of the last three years.

Kris Hopkins: Holding answer received on 18 December 2014



In our guidance on weekly rubbish collections published last year, we estimated the annual cost of a local refuse collection service per household to be between £6 and £7 per month. This is a tiny fraction of the average £122 per month council tax paid by a typical Band D household in England.  The best practice guidance outlines how councils can deliver savings to help reduce costs, without compromising on the frequency or level of service. It challenges the myth that fortnightly collections are necessary or desirable to reduce costs: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-weekly-rubbish-collections

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many planning appeals related to Gypsy and Traveller sites were recovered for a decision by the Secretary of State in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: A planning recovery entails the appeal being decided by Ministers directly, rather than the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State. 13 traveller site appeals were recovered in 2010, 11 in 2011, 53 in 2012, 36 in 2013 and 15 in 2014. As outlined in previous Written Ministerial Statements, in recent years, the recovery criteria has been intentionally changed to consider recovering more appeals in specific areas, including those relating to traveller sites in the Green Belt. Overall, in 2013-14, 0.9% of planning and enforcement appeals were decided by Ministers.

Legal Costs

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much the Government spent on legal fees in the case of Moore and Coates v the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in which ruling was made on 21 January 2015.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 26 January 2015



Planning casework is a quasi-judicial function of the Department, and as was the case under the last Administration, it attracts a high volume of legal challenges which end up in the courts. This is particularly the case in light of the long-term growth of judicial review and the growing creep of European Union directives, regulations and case law; equality law and human rights law. Costs to date in these two claims are £68,825 excluding VAT. The Government makes no apologies for seeking to safeguard Green Belt protection and trying to bring a sense of fair play to the planning system. The Government’s planning policy is clear that both temporary and permanent traveller sites are inappropriate development in the Green Belt. The judgment does not question that principle. Indeed, there have been a number of recent legal cases where the planning appeal decisions of the Secretary of State have succeeded in relation to traveller development in the Green Belt and awarded costs in favour of DCLG, including:   Mulvenna v Secretary of State for Communities and Local GovernmentBarney-Smith v Secretary of State for Communities and Local GovernmentDear v Secretary of State for Communities and Local GovernmentConnors, Connors, Sines, Lee, and Doran v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government – five separate claims heard together. Hence, any payment of costs in Moore vs Coates needs to be seen in this context as my Department has successfully defended the eight claims above and costs are due to my Department. To place the Department’s spending in context more broadly, I would observe that the Department spent £1.7 million in external lawyers’ fees in 2009-10 (excluding Treasury Solicitors), in 2013-14, the figure had fallen to £699,000.

Planning Permission

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written statement of 28 November 2014 by the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, HCWS50, on support for small scale developers, custom and self-builders, when he plans to publish revised planning guidance.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 02 February 2015



The changes the Government has made to Section 106 thresholds to encourage house building and cut the cost of new housing are a change in national policy. Associated planning guidance was also updated at the same time. Planning guidance is kept under review and is updated as required, and we are open to representations on any practical areas where further assistance is needed to help facilitate the implementation of new policy. I also refer my hon. Friend to the answer of 12 February, to Question 223174, which outlines the rationale for our policy changes.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Mr Michael Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many appeals against planning application refusals by local planning authorities have been (a) upheld and (b) dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: Planning is a quasi-judicial process; it is a long-standing feature of the planning system that there is a right of appeal, just as there are with other local quasi-judicial decisions such as on licensing applications, gambling applications or parking fines.The Localism Act 2011 has strengthened the role of Local Plans and abolished the last Administration’s top-down Regional Strategies. Our streamlined National Planning Policy Framework strongly encourages areas to get up-to-date Local Plans in place, and we have been actively supporting councils in doing so. Local Plans now set the framework in which decisions on particular applications are taken, whether locally or at appeal, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. We have also allowed local communities to draw up Neighbourhood Plans, which also become part of the area’s statutory development plan.The table below shows the number of appeals since 2009-10: Appeal decisionsAllowedDismissed2009-105,85211,4432010-115,19510,6332011-125,0219,4752012-134,7578,7052013-144,8848,995Note: Planning inspectorate decisions, including written representations, hearings and inquiries.The table shows that since the National Planning Policy Framework was introduced in March 2012, the number of appeals is lower, as is the number allowed. 99% of decisions are made locally with only approximately 1% of planning applications overturned on appeal. This is in the context of rising housing starts, higher housing construction and rising planning permissions. This means there is more local decision-making, and our reforms are supporting badly-needed new homes within a locally-led planning system.

Homelessness

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other European countries on homelessness.

Kris Hopkins: Representatives of the Department have participated in European discussions about homelessness. This included attending the Leuven Roundtable Discussion on Homelessness in March 2013, as well as speaking at conferences in Belgium, Italy and Denmark. My Department also liaises closely with colleagues in the Home Office on associated issues. The Government is determined to tackle migrant rough-sleeping. Over half of London's rough sleepers are foreign nationals. We believe that it is important that migrants who come to this country are able to support themselves so they do not become destitute. The Government is working with local authorities and the voluntary sector to deliver voluntary reconnection to the migrant’s home country. In some cases those who refuse to return home may be targeted for enforced return and be administratively removed.

Planning Obligations: Cumbria

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Statement of 28 November 2014, Official Report, column 54WS, on small-scale developers, what estimate his Department has made of the financial effect on (a) Cumbria County Council and (b) Copeland Borough Council of financial credit being deducted from affordable housing contributions for vacant buildings brought into lawful use.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 05 February 2015



I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 12 February 2015, Questions UIN 223585, 223172, 223173, 223583 and 223584.

Compulsory Purchase

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the circumstances were of each occasion when his Department went against the advice of its independent inspector when approving a compulsory purchase order in the last four years.

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions his Department has gone against the advice of its independent inspector when approving a compulsory purchase order.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 09 February 2015



Since the Department’s National Planning Casework Unit took over responsibility for issuing Compulsory Purchase Order decisions in May 2012, the Secretary of State has issued decisions on 76 opposed Compulsory Purchase Orders. 73 decisions went along with the Inspector’s recommendation, and 3 did not. In the case of Liverpool City Council and Welsh Streets, the Secretary of State disagreed with the Inspector’s report that recommended confirming the Order. The reasoning is summarised in the Written Ministerial Statement of 16 January 2015, Official Report, Column 35WS. In the case of the Northumberland Development Project the Inspector recommended that the Order should not be confirmed or that, in the event that the Secretary of State is minded to confirm the Order, he should confirm the Order with modifications subject to receipt of a satisfactory Section 106 agreement. Following receipt of the Inspector’s Report the Secretary of State deferred his decision on the Order and in accordance with the Inspector’s recommendation wrote to all parties seeking representations. The Secretary of State subsequently confirmed the Order with modifications on 11 July 2014. In the case of the Shepherd’s Bush Market area the Inspector recommended that the Order should not be confirmed or, if the Secretary of State is minded to confirm the Order, it should be modified by deleting some of the Order lands. In confirming the Order the Secretary of State considered that the proposed purpose of the Order would significantly contribute to the wellbeing of the area and fitted in with the adopted planning framework for the area. He was satisfied that sufficient safeguards were in place to protect traders and shopkeepers and that the potential financial viability of the scheme had been demonstrated, and that no adequate alternatives existed in terms of achieving the purpose of the proposal, particularly in light of the urgent need to redevelop the Market. The Secretary of State confirmed the Order with modifications on 10 October 2014.  Each case is considered on its individual merits, with due process. Copies of the Secretary of State’s decision letter and the Inspector’s Report in each case have been placed in the Library of the House.

Fire Services

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many firefighting jobs are not front line in each fire authority.

Penny Mordaunt: We do not hold this information centrally. Information on staff strength and roles, by fire and rescue authority, is published annually in the Fire and Rescue Operational Statistics bulletin. The latest figures refer to end March 2014, and are available in Tables 3a and 3b of following publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fire-and-rescue-authorities-operational-statistics-bulletin-for-england-2013-to-2014

Council Tax Reduction Schemes

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to ensure that billing authorities pass on in full to local councils council tax support funding which his Department earmarked for those councils.

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to ensure that parish councils will be fully compensated for effects arising from the implementation of localised council tax support schemes.

Kris Hopkins: Holding answer received on 10 February 2015



My Department has provided £3.3 billion to local authorities in respect of local council tax support schemes in both 2013-14 and 2014-15 and the same amount will be provided in 2015-16. For the first year of local council tax support only, the Government set out an indicative amount of £40,450,000 attributable to parish and town councils in England. Latest statistics show that 95 per cent of this indicative amount was passed down in 2013-14. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398765/Revised_RO1314_Supplementary_Tables_-_Final.xlsx As schemes are designed and implemented by billing authorities, it is not for Government to calculate on an ongoing basis the appropriate level of funding parishes required. However I have previously written to the small number of authorities which in 2014-15 had no intention to pass on any of the funding to express concern. I also wrote to all billing authorities on 19 February 2015 reminding them of the Government’s clear expectation that they should pass down funding to eligible parishes in 2015-16 and have placed a copy of this letter in the Library of the House. Every sector of local government should be doing their bit to keep council tax down for hard-working people. Although the referendum principle does not apply to town and parish councils in 2015-16, we continue to keep this option under active consideration. The Government has given new rights for taxpayers to approve or veto excessive council tax rises set by principal local authorities. If necessary, we are prepared to extend this to town and parish councils in the future if there is evidence of unreasonable hikes being imposed on taxpayers without their consent.

Private Rented Housing

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the number of properties in the private rented sector which (a) reach and (b) do not reach the Decent Homes standard.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 10 February 2015



The table below shows the number and proportion of dwellings in the private rented sector which reach the Decent Homes standard over the last five years. The private rented sector has expanded in size in this period (with almost one million more homes), yet both the absolute and relative number of non-Decent Homes have fallen.Reaching standardNot reaching standard20081,847,00056%1,449,00044%20092,123,00059%1,465,00041%20102,325,00063%1,381,00037%20112,610,00065%1,407,00035%20122,754,00067%1,365,00033% This Government has taken a series of actions to help improve standards in the private rented sector. To encourage improved conditions, we have increased consumer awareness and supported longer tenancies with a ‘How to Rent’ guide, a model tenancy agreement, and an industry-led Code of Practice for letting and managing agents. We have introduced regulations to require the remaining 3,000 letting and property management agents to join one of three approved redress schemes from 1 October; made over £4 million available to 23 local authorities to help them tackle localised problems with the small minority in rogue landlords in their area – building on £2.6 million given to 9 local authorities to support enforcement against ‘Beds in Sheds’; and supported measures to tackle retaliatory evictions in private rented sector. However, we also need to avoid disproportionate red tape which would reduce supply, cut investment and ultimately force up rents. As an illustration, my written answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 222996, noted how rent controls would actually worsen property conditions for tenants by discouraging investment in new and existing rented accommodation. I would also add that, in the social sector, the number of non-Decent local authority dwellings across England has fallen from 291,600 in 1 April 2010 to 145,900 in April 2014, with a forecast of a further fall to 113,000 by April 2015.

Private Rented Housing

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homes in the private rented sector reach energy-efficiency standard (a) A, (b) B, (c) C, (d) D, (e) E, (f) F and (g) G.

Brandon Lewis: Holding answer received on 10 February 2015



The English Housing Survey 2012-2013 Chapter 1, Annex Table 1.21 provides the following details for properties in the private rented sector and respective Energy Performance of Buildings Energy Rating Bands.   Energy Efficiency Rating BandPrivate Rented Properties(thousands)A or B39C777D1,901E1,010F288G102Total4,119 The Government is doing a great deal of work to improve the energy performance of buildings, not just privately rented properties but across all sectors. This work includes: Schemes like ECO, Cashback, Green Deal finance and the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund through which 1,255,000 energy efficiency measures were installed in around 1,021,000 properties to the end of November 2014.   Making significant progress to delivering our commitment to ensure new homes will be zero carbon from 2016 onwards, including, strengthening energy performance requirements in Part L of the Building Regulations;

Birmingham City Council

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222916, what the total cost to Birmingham City Council will be of funding the Independent Improvement Panel.

Kris Hopkins: As indicated in the Panel’s Terms of Reference agreed with the City Council, it will be supported by a secretariat provided jointly by Birmingham City Council and the Department for Communities and Local Government, and the expenses it incurs will be shared equally by the City Council and the Department.

Local Government Finance: Sefton

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the level of Sefton Council's (a) allocated and (b) unallocated reserves.

Kris Hopkins: As at 31 March 2014, Sefton held £67.7 million in revenue reserves, of which £17.8 million was schools reserves and £49.9 million was non-ringfenced reserves. Of the non-ringfenced reserves, £39.7 million were earmarked reserves, and £10.2 million were unallocated reserves. These figures are taken from the Revenue Outturn form which has been completed by all local authorities in England and published at the following link;https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2013-to-2014-individual-local-authority-data-outturnWe have encouraged councils to make creative use of reserves, such as "invest to save" projects to reduce long-term costs.

Population

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of population growth on local government finance needs.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to link local government finance settlements to ONS population growth figures.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to compensate (a) Newham, (b) other councils in East London and (c) other areas in the UK where population growth is above average for the increased demand for council services resulting from population growth.

Kris Hopkins: Parliament approved the Local Government Finance Report for 2015-16 on 10 February 2015. The settlement is fair to all; councils with the highest needs have higher spending power per household than those with lower needs. The focus of the settlement has deliberately changed away from keeping authorities dependent on grant, to providing them with the tools they need to grow their economies. As a result, although we took into account relative needs when setting the baseline for the new system, we have frozen this to maximise the incentive effect. All councils can benefit from the incentives for growth we have put in place - the New Homes Bonus and business rates retention.For example Newham’s retained income from Business Rates in 2013-14 was just under £7 million above its baseline funding level; and the authority's own forecasts suggest it will be over £10 million above its baseline funding level in 2014-15. In addition Newham's housing stock has increased by over 8,000 units over the period of the New Homes bonus scheme, providing a further £28 million of funding to the Borough in the years to 2015-16.

Building Regulations

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of 15 January 2015, Official Report, Public Bill Committee, column 386, when and in what ways part M of the building regulations have been strengthened as a baseline accessibility standard since 2010.

Stephen Williams: The statutory guidance in Approved Document M was most recently updated in 2013. The changes in Approved Document M resulted from a rationalisation of guidance supporting Parts M, K and N (Access, Protection from falling, collision and impact and Glazing respectively) to address areas of conflict and overlap to make it easier to comply with requirements. At the same time the guidance on Access Statements in Approved Document M was amended to promote a more proportionate, risk-based approach and guidance relating to Changing Places toilets was strengthened. New, improved guidance will be issued as part of the Housing Standards Review and we are also introducing new optional Building Regulations requirements for wheelchair adaptable and accessible housing.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish a response to its consultation entitled Planning and travellers: proposed changes to planning policy and guidance, published on 14 September 2014.

Brandon Lewis: The consultation closed on 23 November 2014 and my Department received over 750 responses. We are currently considering the responses and will publish the Government’s response in due course.

Planning Permission

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether it is his policy that his Department's proposed Mayoral Development Orders will be subject to the same guidance under the National Planning Practice Guidance as Local Development Orders.

Brandon Lewis: Mayoral development orders will be a new power available to unlock development in London. We will work with the Mayor and London local authorities in developing any guidance in support of the legislation.

Community Relations

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222233, if he will place in the Library the grant agreements for integration projects and activities funded by his Department since 2010.

Stephen Williams: I will shortly place copies of grant agreements relating to 37 current integration projects and work streams in the Library of the House. Copies of grant agreements relating to concluded projects could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Right to Buy Scheme

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what procedures are in place to ensure applicants to the Right to Buy scheme meet that scheme's eligibility criteria.

Brandon Lewis: The eligibility criteria for the Right to Buy are set out in the Housing Act 1985. In fulfilling their statutory duties, landlords are responsible for processing Right to Buy applications and assessing the eligibility of Right to Buy applicants. In December 2013, the Department published a guidance document for landlords which provides best practice advice on all aspects of the Right to Buy process.

Department for Transport

Technical Strategy Leadership Group

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the value was of support provided by (a) his Department and (b) Network Rail to the Technical Strategy Leadership Group in each year from 2010-11 to date.

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the value of support provided by (a) his Department and (b) Network Rail to the Planning Oversight Group was in each year from 2010-11 to date.

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the value was of (a) Network Rail's membership levy and (b) other support provided by Network Rail to the Rail Delivery Group in each year from 2011-12 to date.

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2015 to Question 223589, what the value was of the support provided by Network Rail to the National Task Force in each year since 2009-10.

Claire Perry: The Government, and Network Rail, to further their objective of supporting a safe, reliable and efficient rail network, engage with and support a broad range of stakeholders and initiatives across Government. These include the Technical Strategy Leadership Group; Rail Delivery Group Limited; the Planning Oversight Group; and the National Task Force. The Department provided the following funding towards the Technical Strategy Leadership Group’s strategic research programme through a grant to RSSB which facilitates the group:YearDfT grant towards TSLG’s research programme (£m)2010/111.252011/121.752012/1332013/143.5 Network Rail does not provide direct financial support to the Technical Strategy Leadership Group. Network Rail, between 10th August 2012 and 31st March 2014, paid £240,000 to Rail Delivery Group Limited in membership fees. For the year April 2014 – March 2015, Network Rail has paid or is due to pay £1,568,509 in membership fees. The increased fees paid by Network Rail in the most recent year are as a result of the Group assuming responsibility for policy formulation and communications on behalf of the rail industry. Network Rail provides staff to Rail Delivery Group Limited, for which it is due to charge the group £261,312. The Planning Oversight Group is funded and supported by Rail Delivery Group Limited and does not receive direct financial support from the Department or Network Rail. The National Task Force does not have a budget, but those who attend are drawn from the various industry members.

Wrexham-Bidston Railway Line

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government and Merseyrail on electrification of the Wrexham to Bidston railway line.

Claire Perry: The proposals to electrify the Wrexham to Bidston rail line are a local matter and being led by Merseytravel and the Welsh Government. My Department has not been involved at this stage in the proposals. The Welsh Government is considering the economic benefits of investment on a number of lines in North Wales.

Railways: Clacton

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make representations to Network Rail and Abellio Greater Anglia on introducing a higher frequency of train services on the line between London Liverpool Street and Clacton, particularly at weekday peak travel times.

Claire Perry: The Hon Member is aware that the Department is currently running a public consultation to help inform how we specify the next East Anglia franchise, which is due to commence in October 2016. All of the responses will be carefully considered before any decisions are taken and we will publish a stakeholder briefing document summarising the views represented to us and the consultation’s conclusions when we issue the invitation to tender for the franchise. The Hon Member is invited to submit his representations to the consultation.

Clacton Station

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to improve Clacton railway station.

Claire Perry: Any such improvements would be for the station operator to suggest. The Government believes that operators are better placed than central Government to react to the demands of their customers.

Transport: Finance

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department plans to spend in Local Growth Deals announced from 5 December 2014 to 29 January 2015 on (a) roads, (b) public transport, (c) cycling and walking and (d) mixed mode schemes in each Local Enterprise Partnership area in each year from 2015-16 to 2020-21.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government announced an expansion of Growth Deals for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) on 29 January 2015. This confirmed a total amount of additional funding for each LEP but, unlike the previous announcement in July 2014, did not specify the funding for individual projects that LEPs plan to deliver with this money. This is because many of the projects are at early stages of development and further work is required to finalise business cases, cost estimates and additional funding sources. For that reason it is not possible to provide the precise breakdown requested.

Travel: Costs

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the change in real terms of the cost of travelling by (a) private car, (b) bus, (c) train and (d) domestic air flight between (i) 2000 and 2010 and (ii) 2010 and 2014.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport published statistics on travel costs, based on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in the Transport Statistics Great Britain compendium. Data from the independent ONS suggests that: (i) Between 2000 and 2010 the real cost of motoring, including the purchase of a vehicle, declined by 8%, bus and coach fares increased by 20% and rail fares increased by 15% in real terms. (ii) Between 2010 and 2014 the real cost of motoring, including the purchase of a vehicle, decreased by 5%, bus and coach fares increased by 2% and rail fares increased by 6% in real terms. (iii) The costs of travelling by air are not available from ONS data. However information is available based on fare data from the Civil Aviation Authority. The real cost of the average UK one-way air fare, including taxes and charges, covering domestic flights from 2000 to 2010 declined by 41% and from 2010 to 2013 declined by 4%, reflecting a range of factors including increased competition between airlines. Estimates for 2014 are not yet available.

Roads: Capital Investment

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 1 of Road Investment Strategy - Key Facts and Figures, how much of the £500 million allocated for the period 2015 to 2021 to address emerging priorities in period and fund staff to design, manage and deliver schemes will be spent on (a) addressing emerging priorities and (b) funding staff; what criteria will be used to select the emerging priorities; and what the cost will be of staff allocated to that task.

Mr John Hayes: The £0.5bn figure cited refers to the expected costs of developing proposals ahead of the next Road Investment Strategy. This includes the development of 14 major schemes to start work early in the next road period, as well as work to develop proposals from the next round of route strategies and strategic studies and any actions to take forward priorities emerging in the next parliament. The proportion of costs allocated to staff will depend on the precise nature of what is recommended and committed through this process. Given the nature of the design process, it is likely that a high proportion of the money allocated will be spent on engineers, designers, modellers and others involved in the early stages of development. Any decisions around specific commitments for the next road period, including the criteria by which they will be made, will be made in the next parliament. More detail on this process has been set out in part 6 of the draft licence for Highways England, which has been laid in the Library of the House and is available on gov.uk.

Fuels

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library all information his Department holds comparing the (a) miles per gallon, (b) cost and (c) emissions of (i) premium and (ii) non-premium (A) diesel and (B) petrol.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government publishes a broad range of information on their performance and emissions. To help consumers to make an informed choice when buying a new car, on fuel costs and environmental impact, the Vehicle Certification Agency produces guide lists. These estimate the fuel consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2), and other emissions performance figures of new cars, currently on the market in the UK. An electronic version of the latest edition has been provided to the House Library. The Department for Transport produces a range of statistics on air quality and other emissions by mode and vehicle as part of the energy and environment datasets (TSGB03) on the gov.uk website. We do not publish comparative data on the air quality emissions associated with different fuel types. Information on all sources of air pollution can be found in the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory at http://naei.defra.gov.uk/. Progressively tighter emission standards are reducing pollutant emissions from all vehicles. The Department of Energy and Climate Change also publishes weekly, monthly and annual typical prices of road fuels and petroleum products on the gov.uk website. This data includes super unleaded and non-premium unleaded petrol, and diesel. The greenhouse gas emissions associated with diesel and petrol will vary depending upon the source of the materials and process used to produce both the fossil and renewable content of the fuel. The Department does not hold information on the carbon dioxide emissions associated with fossil diesel and petrol, and premium and non-premium grades. However, the Renewable Energy Directive sets a default energy content of 32 megajoules per litre for petrol and 36 for diesel, and a greenhouse gas emission of 83.8 grams of CO2 equivalent per megajoule - this equates to atypical emission per litre for petrol of 2681.6 grams of CO2 equivalent and 3016.8 grams of CO2 equivalent per litre for diesel. Through the administration of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation the Department collects information on the carbon and sustainability characteristics of the renewable content of fuel reported under the scheme. This data is published quarterly on the gov.uk website. The latest published data covering the period 15 April 2014 to 14 April 2015, shows that bioethanol, blended with petrol, delivered greenhouse gas savings of 62% compared to fossil fuels and biodiesel, blended with diesel, achieved 75% greenhouse gas savings. The figures exclude emissions from indirect land-use change. Super unleaded petrol, the premium grade, has a separate specification to regular unleaded petrol. This limits the oxygen content and a higher minimum for octane number. Some vehicles could be more fuel efficient when using this petrol if they have been designed to respond to using such a fuel as they will be able to develop more power from the fuel. While diesel may be marketed as premium on the basis of additives to the base fuel, all diesel is supplied to one standard EN590. The Department does not have any information regarding the comparative fuel efficiency between super and regular unleaded petrol. However, the influence of fuel upon mileage, is much smaller, in general, than is the influence of other factors such as the vehicle itself (for example, its size, weight, power) , the way that the vehicle is driven, and the road conditions (for example motorway or urban driving).

London Underground

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department plans will be made of the crashworthiness of any D78 London Underground train that is converted to mainline use.

Claire Perry: The assessment of the “crashworthiness” of a train is a matter for the prospective operator of that train. The “Crashworthiness” of rail vehicles is regulated and assessed by standards, laid down in the TSIs (Technical Specifications for Interoperability) and supported by ENs (Euro Norms, or standards). A vehicle’s compliance with these requirements is verified by an independent body, suitably appointed for the task. There is no government proposal to convert D78 London Underground stock to mainline use.

Vivarail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with Vivarail Ltd.

Claire Perry: On 13 January, Department for Transport officials met with Vivarail who explained their proposals for the refurbishment of D78-Stock.

Roads: Surrey

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department plans to provide to Surrey County Council for (a) road maintenance and (b) fixing potholes in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17 and (iii) 2017-18.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government is allocating just under £6 billion for highways maintenance to local highway authorities in England, outside London between 2015-16 and 2020-21. An announcement was made on 23 December 2014 on how this funding is to be allocated. Further details including how much funding Surrey County Council will receive in each year is available at the following weblink:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-maintenance-funding-allocations-201516-to-202021 From this funding we have also set aside £575 million for a Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund and bids for Tranche 1 of the Fund were received in the Department for Transport on 9 February. If successful, local highway authorities can receive additional funding over and above what we are allocating. We also announced from 2016/17 that we would be introducing an incentive element totalling £578 million to reward councils who are adopting efficiencies and have an asset management strategy. Local highway authorities, such as Surrey, will be required to complete a self-assessment questionnaire to determine how much additional funding they will receive over and above what they are already receiving from Government for local highways maintenance.

Railways: Franchises

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to announce the direct contract awards to (a) First Great Western and (b) East Midlands Trains.

Claire Perry: We are currently in negotiation with both operators, in line with the published Rail Franchising Schedule. It is anticipated that the Direct Award for the Great Western Franchise will be for three and a half years (September 2015 to March 2019), whilst that for the East Midlands Franchise will be for two years (October 2015 to October 2017). Announcements regarding the conclusion of these negotiations will be made in due course.

Transport: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure that cases before the Transport Commissioner originating from Wales are heard in Wales.

Claire Perry: The Traffic Commissioner for Wales and the Office of the Traffic Commissioner continue to be committed to, in general, holding all hearings for Welsh operators and drivers in Wales unless they request otherwise.

London Bridge Station

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will conduct or commission an investigation into the knock-on effects of current engineering works at London Bridge.

Claire Perry: Network Rail and train operators Southern and Thameslink are fully aware of the issues that caused the disruption to services into London Bridge from 5 January. Since that date they have worked closely to resolve these issues and improve reliability. Network Rail, Southern and Thameslink have committed to incorporate lessons learned from these events into the planning of future phases of work at London Bridge. They will also incorporate lessons learnt from the disruption seen at Kings Cross and Paddington over Christmas and the recommendation included in the recent ORR report into these issues. I do not consider a further investigation necessary.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Ethiopia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions the UK Ambassador to Ethiopia has been afforded a consular visit to Mr Andargachew Tsige; and when it is intended that the next such visit will take place.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Our Ambassador in Ethiopia has been granted consular access to Mr Andargachew Tsege on two occasions and Ministers have repeatedly raised this consular case with the Ethiopian Government. The UK government’s aim is to have regular and private consular access to Mr Tsege. This has not been forthcoming despite repeated requests. We will continue to urge the Government of Ethiopia to allow this, along with a guarantee that legal due process will be followed and confirmation that the death penalty imposed on him in absentia will not be carried out.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo on (a) the adoption of a new global army plan and defence strategy, (b) other reforms in the security sector and (c) legislation creating specialised mixed chambers.

Mr Hugo Swire: Efforts to stabilise the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) require a reformed army, police and justice sector that can provide effective security across the whole country and an end to the culture of impunity. It is crucial that the security sector operates under democratic control and follows the rule of law, and it and the justice system are responsive to the needs of the Congolese people. We are committed to engaging closely with the new Government of National Unity appointed by President Kabila in December 2014 on national reforms. The DRC made a commitment to deepen security sector reform as part of the regional agreement, the Peace, Stability and Cooperation Framework, signed in Addis Ababa in 2013. Senior officials at the British Embassy in Kinshasa regularly meet with DRC Government Ministers and officials to encourage further steps to implement the reforms necessary for a more effective, accountable and responsive security sector with greater number of perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses brought to justice.

Palestinians

Mr Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2015 to Question 222138, which organisations are involved in the process of clearing home-owners' applications to the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism; how many applicants have been rejected during that process; and what the involvement of the Israeli government is in assessing the security risks associated with each application.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The organisations involved in the process of clearing home-owners' applications to the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) are the UN agencies doing the damage assessment, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Public Works and Housing and Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Government of Israel.No individuals have been rejected to date, but a number of the assessments submitted require review ahead of further processing. These were mostly caused by repetition of names of individuals or where the assessments were recorded under the names of owners who are deceased for example. The GRM does not allow for the disqualification of individuals assessed for shelter repair on grounds of political association or geographic location in Gaza.The Government of Israel, like all participants in the mechanism, is able to object to individuals participating in the GRM.

Middle East

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK-based private security companies operating in (a) Israel and (b) the Occupied Palestinian Territories adhere to the International Code of Conduct for private security service providers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Government continues to play a leading role in the International Code of Conduct Association, and has a seat on the Association’s Board. We encourage all private security companies (PSCs) working in complex environments overseas to join the Association, which oversees the Code and can monitor that PSCs are adhering to the Code. We are also encouraging all states, companies and Non-Governmental Organisations that contract private security companies to recognise Association membership and accredited certification to relevant standards in their contracting processes. The Government will do likewise.

Middle East

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what briefing his Department provided on (a) the promotion and sale of arms and military equipment and (b) human rights to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales before his trip to the Middle East; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: At the request of the British Government, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales undertook official visits in February to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.His Royal Highness’s visit to the Middle East was to help support Britain's relationships in the region with key partners. His programme was designed to assist with key government objectives and the visit supported UK diplomatic, commercial and cultural interests in an important region of the world. Other themes of the tour included inter-faith dialogue, youth opportunities, and environmental sustainability.Details of all high-level briefings for Royal tours are always confidential.

Libya

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of pressure being put on the Central Bank of Libya by terrorist organisations to release funds from that bank to those organisations; and if he will make available to that bank technical advice and assistance from the UK Government on security and fraud prevention in response to that pressure.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK remains deeply concerned about the political and security crisis in Libya, and the increasing threat from terrorist entities in the country. On 22 January 2015 the United Nations Support Mission in Libya condemned a reported armed attack against the Central Bank branch in Benghazi and called for an independent inquiry. The EU Foreign Affairs Council stated on 9 February 2015 that the independence and proper functioning of the Central Bank of Libya, National Oil Corporation and other key financial institutions must be preserved and protected. The EU condemned actions against Libya's national assets, financial institutions and natural resources, which risk depriving the Libyan people of the benefits of the sustainable development of their economy. We fully support the United Nations’ mediation efforts towards a ceasefire and a stable political settlement in Libya. Only political dialogue can address this crisis and protect those independent government institutions whose role is to safeguard Libya’s resources for the good of all Libyans. As part of the UN Security Council, the UK has condemned attempts to intimidate and obstruct the proper functioning of Libya’s financial institutions. In addition, the UK funds technical advice and training through the World Bank to Libyan institutions on public financial management. The programme is aimed at putting in place the foundations of more accountable and transparent processes, reducing the scope for fraud and corruption.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether a research analyst is advising his Department on the deployment of remotely piloted aircraft systems.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: No.

Colombia

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the UK's programme of counter-narcotics assistance to Colombia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: We receive regular updates on our ongoing programme of support to Colombia in the area of counter-narcotics. However, we do not release detailed information as to do so would risk undermining operational effectiveness and could prejudice the capability or security of those undertaking operations. Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office, National Crime Agency and Ministry of Defence are in regular dialogue to ensure this activity is in line with our international obligations.

Colombia

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will place in the Library the protocols, memorandum of understanding and any other documents relating to the UK-Colombia defence relationship.

Mr Hugo Swire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) to the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Mr Flello) on 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 168W. Pursuant to this, the Memorandum of Understanding to promote cooperation between the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Colombian Ministry of Defence was placed in the House of Commons Library on 4 February 2014 by the Ministry of Defence.

Middle East

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, want his policy is on promoting the demilitarisation of Gaza.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The organisations involved in the process of clearing home-owners' applications to the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) are the UN agencies doing the damage assessment, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Public Works and Housing and Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Government of Israel.No individuals have been rejected to date, but a number of the assessments submitted require review ahead of further processing. These were mostly caused by repetition of names of individuals or where the assessments were recorded under the names of owners who are deceased for example. The GRM does not allow for the disqualification of individuals assessed for shelter repair on grounds of political association or geographic location in Gaza.The Government of Israel, like all participants in the mechanism, is able to object to individuals participating in the GRM.

Middle East

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of progress in the demilitarisation of Gaza.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have not made a formal assessment of demilitarisation of Gaza.We have been clear that we believe that a durable ceasefire agreement should ensure that: Hamas and other militant groups permanently end rocket fire and other attacks against Israel and that all terrorist groups in Gaza should disarm.

Crans Montana Forum: Western Sahara

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has received an invitation to the Crans Montana Forum in Dakhla, occupied Western Sahara; whether he plans to send a representative to that forum; and what reports he has received on the African Union's call for that forum to be cancelled.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I have not received an invitation to this forum and I do not plan to send a representative. I am aware of reports that the African Union has called for the forum to be cancelled.

Central America

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on ratification of the EU-Central America Association Agreement; when he expects the UK to ratify the agreement; and when the two remaining pillars will be applied.

Mr Hugo Swire: We strongly support the EU-Central American Association Agreement, which was signed in 2012. The Agreement supports our policy objectives for Central America via three important pillars of political dialogue, development cooperation and trade. We believe that these are the right tools to support economic growth, democracy and political stability in Central America and the UK has supported the Agreement’s progress through its negotiation, signature and conclusion stages. The trade pillar of the Association Agreement has been provisionally applied since 2013. The two remaining pillars will be applied as soon as the remaining EU Member States ratify. I have not had any recent discussions with my EU counterparts on this issue. However, I have recently discussed the Agreement with a number of Ambassadors to the UK from Central American countries and have had the occasion to discuss it while visiting the region – most recently on my visits to Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama last year. The preparatory work prior to ratification is ongoing. The next stage will be to seek parliamentary approval for a draft Order in Council that will specify the Association Agreement as an EU treaty. I expect a draft Order to be laid early in the next Parliament.

Rio Tinto Group

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any former officials of his Department have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The FCO does not hold details of employment taken up by former officials unless they have been subject to the business appointment rules. Records kept under the business appointment rules covering the last 3 years (2012 – 2014) show that no former members of staff have left the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to join Rio Tinto plc.

Rio Tinto Group

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any employees of Rio Tinto plc have been seconded to his Department in the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Our records show that in the last five years no employees of Rio Tinto plc have been seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

Syria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress British military forces have made on defeating the ISIL threat in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are providing intelligence and surveillance to support coalition partners, who are carrying out air strikes in Syria against ISIL. Airstrikes are making a difference on the ground, for example, they supported ground forces in driving ISIL out of Kobane. In addition, we will make a significant contribution to the US-led effort to train and equip the moderate Syrian opposition who are fighting against ISIL. Ultimately, we need to see an inclusive political transition in Damascus which produces a Syrian government, without Assad, with which we can work to fight ISIL.

Germany

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Germany on financial contributions for British victims of thalidomide.

Mr David Lidington: The British Ambassador to Berlin has recently raised the issue of compensation for British survivors of Thalidomide with the German Families Minister Manuela Schwesig. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently working with the Thalidomide Trust to secure a meeting between the Trust and the relevant German authorities in support of their campaign to seek compensation for British survivors of Thalidomide.

Ukraine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts on supplying arms to Ukraine's military; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: I have discussed the crisis in Ukraine with a number of my NATO counterparts. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) set out in his statement to the House on 10 February: ‘it is a national decision for each country in the NATO alliance to decide whether to supply lethal equipment to Ukraine. The UK is not planning to do so, but we reserve the right to keep this position under review. Different members of the alliance take nuanced positions on this question and are entitled to do so.

Jordan

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Jordanian counterpart on tackling ISIL.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK works closely with Jordan as they play a key and active role on the front lines of the fight against ISIL. Most recently, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) wrote to the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Nasser Judeh, to extend his condolences following the brutal murder of Lieutenant Al Kassasbeh and to reiterate that the UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Jordan in the struggle against ISIL. The Foreign Secretary also met Foreign Minister Judeh twice in January, including at the Counter-ISIL Small Group Conference in London on 22 January, where discussions focussed on reviewing progress, strengthening coalition coordination, and providing further support to the Government of Iraq.

Commonwealth

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons his Department will not be flying the Commonwealth Flag on Commonwealth Day; and by whom that decision was taken.

Mr David Lidington: In addition to flying the Union Flag at all times, it is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s policy to fly the flags of the nations of the United Kingdom on the appropriate national days, and the flags of the British Overseas Territories on the day that is most significant in each of their histories. The Foreign Secretary is responsible for FCO policy.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the government of Democratic Republic of Congo on the arrest and incommunicado detention of 12 activists after protests in January 2015 against revision of the electoral law.

Mr Hugo Swire: During the recent period of unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) officials at our Embassy in Kinshasa were in regular contact with the DRC authorities, and urged all parties to exercise calm and restraint. Officials also highlighted the importance of allowing those who wished to protest peacefully against the proposed electoral reform bill to be allowed to do so. This was echoed in an Foreign and Commonwealth Office statement https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fco-expresses-concern-over-violence-in-drc issued on 19 January.On 25 January a revised electoral law was passed, and on 26 January an FCO statement https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-welcomes-new-electoral-law-and-cessation-of-violence-in-drc welcomed the revised electoral law, which sought to address some of the protestors’ concerns. We are pleased that calls for an end to violence were heeded but are concerned that - according to UN reports – as many as 300 people remain in detention following the demonstrations, including some who have not had access to a lawyer. Of those currently being held, the UN estimates that at least 11 are believed to be in ‘incommunicado’ detention, including Christopher Ngoyi.Officials continue to raise the ongoing detention of protestors at the highest level. On 11 February, EU Head of Mission in Kinshasa issued a joint statement expressing concern at arrests and arbitrary detention of political activists by the security services. Those imprisoned for peacefully exercising their right to free speech must be released without delay.

Malaysia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Malaysian government regarding (a) the imprisonment of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, (b) Malaysia's sodomy laws and (c) sedition laws.

Mr Hugo Swire: The hon. Member will be aware of my statement of 10 February, the day the judgement was announced. In this I expressed deep concern at the Malaysian Federal Court’s decision to uphold Anwar Ibrahim’s conviction for sodomy. I had previously raised concerns about the case on 4 December when I met the Malaysian High Commissioner. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), also raised this issue when he met Malaysia’s Foreign Minister on 9 December. Our High Commission in Malaysia has discussed the matter with Malaysian ministers and officials on several occasions, and officials from the High Commission in Kuala Lumpur observed the trial alongside other local diplomatic missions.Wider representations on Malaysia’s sodomy laws have been confined to Anwar Ibrahim’s case as charges have been extremely rare. We have lobbied for the repeal of the Sedition Act over many years. We are aware of the recent comments by Prime Minister Najib concerning plans to strengthen the Act rather than repeal it. We await more information about the scope of the proposed amendments. Until we know what these entail, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

Malaysia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the conviction and imprisonment of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia.

Mr Hugo Swire: As I said in my statement on 10 February, the day he was convicted and sentenced, Anwar Ibrahim's case raises worrying questions about the independence of the judiciary and rule of law in Malaysia. As such, we have consistently raised concerns with the Malaysian government. Malaysia is an important partner and friend to the UK. We continue to believe that the integrity of the rule of law is a key part of its success, as are the values of modeation and tolerance. We encourage Malaysia to recognise the importance of international confidence in its judicial system and to restore trust in its commitment to human rights.

Nepal

Sir Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the UK establishing diplomatic relations with Nepal.

Mr Hugo Swire: We are keen to commemorate the establishment of relations with Nepal, given the historic and warm relationship between our two countries, and the outstanding service rendered by the UK by the Gurkhas. The UK is working closely with the government of Nepal on the plans for the bicentenary which will culminate in March 2016 to mark the ratification of the Treaty of Segauli signed in March 1816. Plans are underway to mark this important anniversary in both the UK and Nepal, including through a series of cultural and educational events with senior level engagement.  Separately, the bicentenary of the commencement of Gurkha recruitment – ‘Gurkha 200’ - will be marked between March and June 2015. More information can be found on: http://www.gurkha200.co.uk/.

China

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Chinese authorities on religious freedoms in Zhejiang province.

Mr Hugo Swire: As stated in my response of 16 October 2014 (PQ 209774), we have concerns about all restrictions placed on freedom of religion or belief in China, including those placed on Christians in Zhejiang Province. We are particularly concerned by reports that a number of churches have had their crosses removed, been demolished, or forced to close. We regularly raise our concerns with Chinese counterparts and highlight them through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy. We last raised the issue of religious freedom in detail during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in May 2014.

British Nationals Abroad: Ethiopia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with the government of Ethiopia the possible return of Mr Tsige to its jurisdiction since 2004.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: It is longstanding policy and practice to neither confirm nor deny whether an extradition request has been made or received, nor whether discussions have taken place. We continue to press the Ethiopian authorities for regular consular access.

Department for International Development

Overseas Aid

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2015 to Question 222395, what proportion of UK Official Development Assistance was allocated to fragile and conflict-affected states in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2011-12.

Justine Greening: The most recent available figures for UK official development assistance (ODA) show the following proportions were spent in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS):   Year% UK ODA Spent in FCAS (Bilateral and multilateral)201039%201144%201242%201343%   ODA spend is calculated on a calendar-year basis; provisional figures for 2014 UK ODA spend will be published in the spring.

Middle East and North Africa

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any staff of her Department are engaged in considering the effects of drone strikes on civilian populations as part of her Department's work in the Middle East and North Africa.

Mr Desmond Swayne: In countries where DFID has humanitarian programmes, we monitor the general humanitarian situation in close communication with partners on the ground.

Department for Education

Secondary Education: Bradford

Mr David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many secondary school places were created in Bradford between 2005 and 2010.

Mr David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many primary school places were created in Bradford between 2005 and 2010.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Department collects information from local authorities on the number of school places in state-funded primary and secondary schools as part of the annual School Capacity Collection.   Data for 2010 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-capacity-2009-to-2010-final.   In 2005 this information was collected as part of the Surplus Places Survey, and data is available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110316231736/http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=9695.   A comparison of the position in 2005 and 2010, showing the net change in capacity in Bradford local authority, is given in the table below. Positive figures indicate an overall increase in places; negative figures indicate an overall decrease in places. A decrease in places can be the consequence of actions to address over-supply, remove unsuitable place provision, or if restructuring the school system. Bradford, like many LAs, reduced the number of available school places during the previous decade when the primary population was falling by removing surplus places, with the objective of improving efficiency.Change in number of places in primary schools (including all through and middle-deemed primary schools) 2005 to 2010Change in number of places in secondary schools (including all-through and middle deemed secondary schools) 2005 to 2010 (1)Bradford-1,0711,905  Source: Surplus Places Survey 2005 and School Capacity 2010   (1) Secondary capacity in 2010 used to calculate change in number of places includes places in academies

GCE AS-level

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the potential cost of the Government's plans to abolish the AS level qualification.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Government has no plans to abolish the AS qualification. The Government is decoupling the AS from the A level, and the AS will remain available as an option for students wishing to broaden their programme of A level study by taking an AS in a particular subject.

Schools: Inspections

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance she has given to Ofsted on (a) respecting the religious ethos of faith schools and the legal framewirk governing them, (b) exemptions for faith schools under the Equality Act 2010 and (c) the requirements of the law governing assemblies and religious education.

Mr Edward Timpson: It is for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools to determine what advice or guidance inspectors need to inspect particular matters, drawing on relevant guidance that has been issued to schools by the Department for Education and on statutory requirements.

Health Education

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funds her Department has allocated to the Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service in 2015-16.

Mr Nick Gibb: No decision has been made about allocation of funding in 2015-16.   Effective drug and alcohol education plays an important role in helping to ensure that young people are equipped with the information they need to make informed, healthy decisions and to keep themselves safe. Drugs education is a statutory part of the new national curriculum for science. Pupils should be taught about the effects of recreational drugs, including substance misuse, on behaviour, health and life processes. Teaching in this area can be further strengthened through PSHE education.   ADEPIS have produced a range of resources for schools to support teachers when they provide drug education. In particular, ADEPIS help teachers to tackle difficult topics by producing briefing papers on themes such as ‘Novel Psychoactive Substances’ or ‘Alcohol, drugs and sexual health’.   ADEPIS have also produced a toolkit which aims to help schools when reviewing their drug and alcohol policy, including practical advice on consulting with parents, teachers, pupils and others in the community.

Community Schools

Mr Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of community schools in England have made their sports facilities available to members of the public outside school hours in each of the last five years.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not collect data on the number of community schools that have made their sports facilities available to members of the public outside of school hours. Schools are not required to report to the Department on how they use their sports facilities.

Children's Centres: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sure Start Centres there are in Preston; and how many child care places each such centre offers.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Department does not hold this data at constituency level.

Adoption

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2015 to Question 219289, whether the decision to delay the introduction of the Adoption Register received specific Ministerial approval.

Mr Edward Timpson: As I made clear in my previous answer in PQ 219289, both the Department for Education and the British Association of Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) are committed to the security of children’s and families’ data. This is a new service and it is crucial that the Department is satisfied that the system is completely secure before launching the pilot. I was fully informed of and subsequently approved this decision.

Children: Poverty

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what date she plans to publish the results of the Property Data Survey Programme for schools.

Mr David Laws: A national summary of the condition of the school estate using data from the Property Data Survey Programme has been published on the Government’s website and can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/property-data-survey-programme   The individual survey reports for schools have been shared directly with schools, local authorities and other relevant bodies responsible for the maintenance of school buildings.

Internet: Bullying

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to prevent cyber-bullying of teenage schoolchildren.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Government believes that schools, internet providers and parents all have a role to play in keeping children and young people safe online.   All schools must have a behaviour policy with measures to tackle bullying, including cyberbullying, and they are held closely to account by Ofsted. The Department for Education has issued advice to schools on preventing and tackling bullying and on supporting bullied children which includes cyberbullying. We have also recently issued advice aimed at parents on how to keep children safe online, spot the signs that a child may be being cyberbullied and what to do if it happens.   In addition, e-safety is being taught at all four key stages of the curriculum and covers responsible, respectful and secure use of technology. Pupils are also taught age-appropriate ways of reporting any concerns they may have about what they see or encounter online.   The Department is also providing around £4 million in funding to various anti-bullying organisations, such as the Diana Award, Kidscape and the National Children's Bureau (NCB), who work in schools to combat bullying, including cyberbullying. The NCB has produced a guide for schools on preventing and tackling cyberbullying of children with a special educational need or disability who are especially vulnerable to this form of bullying. Furthermore, we are currently considering bids through a £25 million voluntary and community sector grant programme to extend the work being undertaken by anti-bullying charities in schools. A £2 million grant is being offered in conjunction with the Government Equalities Office to support projects which tackle specifically homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.   More widely, the Government continues to work to protect children online through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) which brings together representatives from government, industry, law enforcement, academia, charities and parenting groups.

Schools: Asbestos

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools (a) submitted requests for and (b) have been granted funding because of significant asbestos problems under the second phase of the Priority Schools Building Programme.

Mr David Laws: The aim of the second phase of the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP2) is to undertake rebuilding and refurbishment projects in schools with buildings in the very worst condition. PSBP2 is not an asbestos removal programme as, in most cases, the presence of asbestos can be safely managed with minimal investment. However, the Department for Education announced when the programme was launched that it would consider some situations where the presence of asbestos means the annual costs of safely managing it are excessive.   A total of 1299 schools submitted an expression of interest (EOI) for the second phase of the Priority School Building Programme. 307 schools indicated in their EOI that they had significant asbestos issues and provided relevant supporting documentation. These cases were assessed by independent technical advisers. This assessment considered whether the issues meant areas were already or likely to become inaccessible, whether the issues were classified as high risk or whether the presence of asbestos impacts on the operation or the maintenance of the school.   Eight schools met these criteria and in these cases the cost of removing or encapsulating asbestos was included in the calculation of the school’s condition need. Of these, six had sufficiently poor overall condition need to be included in the programme. Further information on the methodology used to prioritise schools for inclusion in PSBP2 is published online at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/401689/PSBP2_Methodology.pdf   In all blocks where the condition need will be addressed, all asbestos will be dealt with appropriately, whether raised as a specific concern or not.   PSBP2 is intended to sit alongside - and not to replace or substitute - the responsibility that local authorities, governing bodies, trustees, dioceses and other bodies have for the maintenance of school buildings in their care. Given that PSBP2 is a six year programme (running between 2015 and 2021), it is essential that schools continue to address any concerns with regards to asbestos in an appropriate timescale and do not rely on PSBP2 to address immediate needs. All applicants have been made aware of this requirement.   Alongside announcing the schools to be included in PSBP2, the Government also announced school condition allocations for the next three years. We have reformed these allocations so that they reflect the condition of school buildings; this means that those schools in poor condition who missed out on PSBP2 can be confident that their needs will instead be reflected in the funding we make available to their local authority, trust or voluntary aided partnership for improving the condition of their schools.

Schools: Asbestos

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what date she plans to publish the report of her Department's review of asbestos policy for schools.

Mr David Laws: No date has yet been set for the publication of the review report but we intend to publish it very shortly.

Teachers: Hartlepool

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 12 July 2010, Official Report, columns 577-8W, on teachers: Hartlepool, what the teacher to pupil ratio was in each school in Hartlepool constituency in each of the last five years.

Mr David Laws: The following table provides the pupil to teacher ratio (PTR) for each school in Hartlepool constituency in England, November 2010 to 2013. Prior to 2010 comparable PTR information is not available on a consistent basis because the methodology changed to include sole and dual registered pupils. The information provided is from the School Workforce Census which takes place in November each year. November 2013 is the latest information available.20101,220111,220121,220132,3HARTLEPOOL LOCAL AUTHORITY17.017.316.715.9 Nursery SchoolsSeaton Carew Nursery School14.811.111.615.0 Primary SchoolsWard Jackson Primary School13.819.518.117.3Hart Primary School20.018.420.019.9Owton Manor Primary School13.618.214.515.0Brougham Primary School17.916.716.014.0Golden Flatts Primary School19.918.319.816.4Jesmond Gardens Community Primary School18.819.120.218.6Eldon Grove Academy20.118.519.716.4Lynnfield Primary School19.721.721.715.7Stranton Primary School18.521.316.415.2Fens Primary School22.824.024.424.1Kingsley Primary School21.120.118.917.2St Helen's Primary School20.718.920.119.2West View Primary School19.618.716.914.5Throston Primary School21.923.922.923.5West Park Primary School19.322.021.720.6Clavering Primary School23.120.121.820.7Barnard Grove Primary School19.617.218.619.2Rift House Primary School19.417.518.919.9Rossmere Primary School17.519.619.219.0Grange Primary School16.917.720.019.8St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School19.920.520.820.5Greatham CofE Primary School21.721.421.220.3St Aidan's CofE Memorial Primary School21.822.419.517.9Sacred Heart RC Primary School24.723.621.724.1St Cuthbert's RC Primary School22.823.626.323.1St Joseph's RC Primary School20.721.520.822.7St Teresa's RC Primary School23.521.221.520.9St Bega's RC Primary School17.326.117.517.3St John Vianney RC Primary School19.322.422.216.0Holy Trinity Church of England (Aided) Primary School24.026.517.923.3 Secondary SchoolsSt Hild's Church of England Voluntary Aided School15.314.613.812.9Dyke House Sports and Technology College14.713.413.314.0High Tunstall College of Science15.516.415.214.1Manor College of Technology14.014.614.314.9The English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College14.515.014.914.0 Special SchoolsCatcote School6.87.15.84.2Springwell School4.84.34.54.7 Source: School Workforce Census [1] PTRs are calculated by dividing the total full time equivalent (FTE) number of pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of qualified teachers regularly employed in schools.[2] For statistical purposes only, pupils who do not attend both morning and afternoon at least five days a week are regarded as part-time. Each part-time pupil is treated as 0.5 FTE.[3] PTRs are calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of qualified and unqualified teachers regularly employed in schools.

Schools: Sports

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the average number of hours children spent exercising in schools each week in (a) the UK and (b) each region of the UK in each year since May 2010.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not hold information on the average number of hours children have spent exercising in schools each week since May 2010.   Following the recent review of the national curriculum, PE continues to be compulsory at all 4 key stages.   Through the primary PE and sport premium we are also providing over £450 million of ring-fenced funding across three academic years until 2016. The funding goes directly to primary schools, to be spent on the improvement of PE and sport, so that all pupils develop a healthy lifestyle. We published a research brief into the use of the primary PE and sport premium in September 2014. Our findings show that the mean amount of time spent on curricular PE in primary schools has increased by 13 minutes from 109 to 122 minutes a week from 2012/13 to 2013/14. 84 per cent of schools reported an increase in pupil engagement with PE during school time and 83 per cent saw an increase in participation in after school clubs.   Our research was based on a survey of 586 primary schools between April and July 2014. Our full report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-premium-an-investigation-in-primary-schools

Schools: Admissions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment she has made of the effects of compulsory school starting ages in Sweden and the UK.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Department for Education has not made any comparative assessment of the effects of compulsory school starting ages in Sweden and the UK.

Schools: Bradford

Mr David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the budget for schools in Bradford was in each year from 2010 to 2015.

Mr David Laws: Local authorities are required under section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 to submit an education and children’s social care budget statement to the Secretary of State for Education. The table below shows the total schools revenue budget in Bradford for each financial year from 2010-2011 to 2014-2015.   Financial YearBradford Total Schools Budget (Gross)2010-2011£452,625,9792011-2012£459,056,0582012-2013£461,264,5592013-2014£484,412,0632014-2015£506,406,211 Source: Local authority section 251 budget statements 2010-2011 to 2014-2015   To be noted before making year-on-year comparisons: An explanation of each expenditure category within the section 251 budget can be found in the guidance documentation published online at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/section-251-For the financial years 2011–2012 to 2012–2013, the table contains schools revenue budget data for local authority maintained schools only, excluding academies. From 2013-2014, the total schools revenue budget has been reported to the Department for Education prior to academy recoupment and does therefore include academy data.During 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 the schools revenue budget data included the pupil premium. In 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 the pupil premium was paid as a separate grant and no longer included in this data.

Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's training budget was in each of the last three financial years.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on training in each of the last three financial years.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Department for Education holds a central training and development budget covering core education and training undertaken through Civil Service Learning. This includes development in core Civil Service skills including leadership and management, financial management and analysis. The table below shows the centrally managed budget for each of the past three financial years.   Financial YearBudget12/13£700,00013/14£700,00014/15£600,000   Additionally, directorates across the Department spend an element of their budgets on training and development which varies dependant on in-year development needs. The table below shows both central training and development spend and Directorate spend for each last 3 financial years.   Financial YearTotal spendAverage number of staff (based on Full Time Equivalents)Average spend per member of staff (based on Full Time Equivalents)2014/15 (covering the period April to December only)£1.3m3353.7£3902013/14£2.2m3539.4£6202012/13£3.2m3801.1£840   In addition to formal training, the Department for Education encourages staff to take advantage of a variety of different professional development opportunities not captured by this expenditure, including job shadowing, on-the-job training and peer mentoring.

Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average number of days training of full-time equivalent staff employed in her Department was in each of the last three financial years.

Mr Nick Gibb: The civil service aspiration is for five days’ training and development for each member of staff every year.   The majority of training and development is not formal training but is carried out within teams and groups and includes: research; on the job training; shadowing; mentoring; and coaching. Staff record their own personal development in line with the Department for Education’s Capability Review which is on an individual and local basis.   Information on the amount of time spent undertaking informal training is not collated centrally.

Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to its managers on how many days training should be made available to staff.

Mr Nick Gibb: In line with the Capabilities Plan as part of the Civil Service Reform, the Department for Education recommends that all staff undertake at least five days of training and development every year. This could include formal training courses but may also be made up of other professional development opportunities, for example job shadowing and on the job training. This is not a maximum or minimum target, but a benchmark of expectations. This guidance is available to all managers and staff through the Department’s intranet pages.

Educational Psychology

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to collect information on waiting times for students referred to educational psychologists.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Department for Education has no plans to collect information on waiting times for students referred to educational psychologists. Recruitment and deployment of educational psychologists is a matter for local authorities taking into account their statutory duties. In 2013 the Department invested an additional £6.194 million, to increase the number of training places by 10% (from 120 to 132 intakes in 2014 and 2015).

Teachers: Foreign Workers

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what background checks are carried out when a qualified teacher from (a) outside and (b) inside the EU applies to teach in England.

Mr David Laws: The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009, the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2014 and the Non-maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2011 require schools to carry out specific checks before they may appoint an individual, including from abroad, to work at the school. The regulations require schools to check: the identity of the individual; that the person meets any relevant staff qualification requirements; and that the person has a right to work in the UK. In addition, the school must obtain an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Certificate and where relevant a check of the children’s barred list. For those appointed into a teaching position, schools must ensure that the individual is not prohibited by the Secretary of State for Education from carrying out teaching work in England. Where the person to be appointed has lived outside of the United Kingdom the regulations require further checks to be made and that the school must have regard to statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State when deciding what those additional checks should be. The Department’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (KCSIE) statutory guidance makes clear that all schools and colleges have a duty to carry out mandatory safer recruitment checks that help to identify individuals who are not suitable to work with pupils. This guidance also signposts Home Office advice about obtaining criminal record information from overseas police forces and certificates of good conduct.

Leader of the House

Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy

Richard Burden: To ask the Leader of the House, what assessment he has made of the implications for the Government's policies of the report from the Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy entitled Open Up, published in January 2015; and which recommendations of that report he plans to implement.

Mr William Hague: The majority of the recommendations in the report from the Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy are for the House itself to consider and respond to.In relation to the recommendations regarding the legislative process, the Government is committed to ensuring that the legislation it puts before Parliament is of a high standard and to ensuring that Parliament has the necessary means by which to perform its scrutiny function.In April 2013, the Government launched the Good Law initiative, designed to promote law which is effective, clear and accessible. Various initiatives have been introduced this Parliament designed to improve the legislative process, including the use of explanatory statements on amendments, improved explanatory notes and piloting public reading stages of Bills. The Government has also given sufficient time to allow proper scrutiny in public bill committees and provided additional days at Commons report stages where necessary.The Speaker's Commission also recommended that secure online voting should be an option for all voters by 2020. To make online voting available for UK elections could be attractive in light of current advances in IT. However, there are concerns that e-voting is not sufficiently transparent or secure.The major issue raised by those opposed to the introduction of e-voting is that it is not sufficiently robust or trusted. In addition, the cost of introducing such a system would be substantial. Public support for such measures is still far from universal and traditional means of voting (such as polling stations and postal voting) remain popular with the electorate. Therefore, any means of e-voting would have to be introduced as an additional voting channel. Whilst e-voting may be something for the Government to consider in the future, it is not an immediate priority. The experience of the referendum on Scottish independence shows us that if people are engaged in the democratic process they will turn out to vote using the existing mechanism.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Horse Racing: Animal Welfare

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many racehorses were killed outright or destroyed during or shortly after a race meeting on each British racecourse in (a) flat racing, (b) all-weather racing and (c) National Hunt racing in 2014.

George Eustice: This data is not held by Government. Statistical data on numbers of horse fatalities is held by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). However, statistics for fatalities for 2014 are not yet available.

Animal Products: Israel

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has agreed arrangements with the Israeli government to ensure that all animal products exported from Israel to the UK originate wholly within Israel and not from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

George Eustice: This Department has had no discussions with Israel about accepting animal products from the Occupied Palestinian Territories.The rules for the importation of animal products are laid down in European Union (EU) animal and public health legislation. Imports are only accepted from approved third countries. The decision to approve a third country is made at an EU level and is based on the animal and public health status of the country concerned.Israel is approved for a number of different categories of animal product. This approval is limited to Israel and does not include the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Iain McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the benefits and costs of a nationwide badger cull; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Government is committed to our strategy to make England free of bovine TB, of which culling badgers in areas where the disease is rife is a key element. The outcome of this year’s cull in Somerset indicates that industry-led culling can, in the right circumstances, deliver the level of effectiveness required to be confident of achieving disease control benefits.The results for Gloucestershire show that continued progress is needed taking into account the additional challenges of interference and harassment by activists. The cost of the badger cull pilots in 2013 was £6.3 million. The estimated cost of England failing to tackle bovine TB is estimated to be £1 billion in the next decade.

Dog Fighting

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the extent of dog fighting in the UK.

George Eustice: We have not been provided with any recent estimate of the extent of dog fighting by either the police or animal welfare organisations.

National Parks

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the draft Governance of National Parks (England) and the Broads Bill will be published.

Dan Rogerson: The draft Bill on governance in English national parks and the Broads, announced in the Queen’s Speech, will be published when it is ready and is the next step in the Government’s review of their governance and local accountability.

Crans Montana Forum: Western Sahara

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the declaration by the African Union that the Crans Montana Forum in Dakhla, occupied Western Sahara, should be cancelled.

Dan Rogerson: Having received no invitation, no assessment has been made.

Dredging

George Hollingbery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) time taken and (b) cost of dredging operations undertaken by the Environment Agency was in the (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14 financial years in each operational area; and what the expected benefits of such operations were.

Dan Rogerson: Dredging is not identified as a separate category within the Environment Agency’s budget allocations or work recording systems, as it is often carried out at the same time as other channel activities. It is included within the broader category of ‘conveyance’ on which the Environment Agency spent around £45 million and £32 million in total in 2012/13 and 2013/14 respectively. The Environment Agency carries out conveyance work, including dredging, where it cost effectively reduces flood risk to people and property. The Environment Agency estimate that, on average, conveyance work provides about £7 of reduced flood damages for every pound spent. Dredging can provide other benefits, such as land drainage and navigation.   The funding spent on conveyance in each operational Environment Agency area was:  2012/132013/14Environment Agency AreaTotal Allocated (£M) Total Allocated (£M) Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire1.030.56Cumbria and Lancashire3.771.75Derbyshire Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire2.312.27Devon and Cornwall2.771.31Essex Norfolk and Suffolk3.961.07Greater Manchester Merseyside and Cheshire4.414.47Hertfordshire and North London4.483.40Kent and South London3.953.12Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire3.262.86Northumberland Durham and Tees1.111.73Shropshire Herefordshire Worcestershire and Gloucestershire1.071.39Solent and South Downs2.012.10Staffordshire Warwickshire and West Midlands1.271.42Wessex2.011.38West Thames4.121.60Yorkshire3.431.82Grand Total 44.95 32.27   We do not hold information on the time it took for each of the dredging operations to be undertaken.

Dredging

George Hollingbery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions the Environment Agency has (a) issued warnings and (b) brought prosecutions as a result of dredging or channel maintenance activities in each of the last three years; on how many occasions referrals were made to the police following such activities; and which rivers were affected in each such case.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency has a range of enforcement and sanction options that it can employ against those undertaking dredging or channel maintenance works incorrectly.  Environment Agency officers do issue warnings and, where appropriate, make referrals to the police. However, the Environment Agency does not hold statistics on this centrally.

Land Drainage

George Hollingbery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the comparative costs of (a) connecting new minor developments to surface water main drainage and (b) utilising sustainable drainage systems for such developments in the next five years.

Dan Rogerson: Defra Research & Development project WT1505 provides estimates of the comparative costs of sustainable drainage (SuDS) versus conventional drainage (to Building Regulations) for a minor development as follows:   Small site (<0.2ha, 8 properties, 1 outfall)Capital (construction) costsMaintenance costs (per annum) SuDS (£)Conventional (£)SuDS (£)Conventional (£)Cost estimate (SuDS: “normal” permeability)44,00059,200248188   These estimates relate to what the research classed as “normal” permeability.   Using SuDS on sites with different permeability levels could incur higher or lower construction and maintenance costs. However, under the Government’s approach there is a presumption that conventional approaches to drainage can be used where construction costs would otherwise be higher.

Biodiversity

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to introduce biodiversity offsetting; and whether ancient woodland will be exempt.

George Eustice: The Government is not proposing any policy change regarding biodiversity offsetting at this point. As recommended by the Environmental Audit Committee and others, Defra waited for - and is considering - the report on the six offsetting pilots before making any further decisions.   The Government has always been clear that any policy change regarding offsetting would not alter existing protections in the planning system such as those for ancient woodland.

Animals: Waste Disposal

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what analysis and research her Department has undertaken into the potential risk to human health of the transportation of animal carcasses and animal products in unsealed and unrefrigerated vehicles to rendering facilities.

George Eustice: Defra has not undertaken research into the potential risk to human health of the transportation of animal carcasses and animal products in unsealed and unrefrigerated vehicles to rendering facilities.EU animal by-products (ABP) legislation, which is in force to protect public and animal health, requires animal carcasses and other ABP material to be collected and transported in sealed new packaging or covered leak-proof containers or vehicles at an appropriate temperature. Non-compliance with this requirement is a criminal offence under the Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013. In addition, the Government has been urging the rendering industry to consider what improvements can be made to current practice when transporting ABPs and on the issue of cooling carcasse material.The Department understands that the rendering industry is currently undertaking and funding its own research into the costs and benefits of chilling ABPs during storage and transport.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Fracking

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what notice and publicity requirements relate to the planning and environmental permitting process for hydraulic fracturing.

Matthew Hancock: Companies seeking planning permission for the winning and working of oil or natural gas by underground operations (including exploratory drilling) are required to serve notice of an application on individual owners and tenants of land where surface works are required. They must also publish a notice in a local newspaper and put up site notices. Mineral Planning Authorities advertise and consult upon the planning applications they receive.Once an application for an environmental permit is made, the environmental regulator will publish details and publicise them on their website for public consultation.As part of the amendments we have made to the Infrastructure Bill, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State will need to be satisfied before granting a hydraulic fracturing consent that the public was given notice of the application for the relevant planning permission.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority paid its staff in (a) performance-related payments and (b) other payments, allowances and benefits in addition to their core salary in each of the last four years; how many and what proportion of officials working for that body received such payments; and what the monetary value of the 20 largest such payments made in each such year was.

Matthew Hancock: It is essential that the NDA can recruit and retain the best people necessary to carry out its mission to decommission and clean-up the nuclear legacy and in order to do so it has to offer competitive packages, including as appropriate performance bonuses and allowances. Remuneration is benchmarked against industry comparators and is set to recruit and retain high calibre staff, including with specialist skills. The Energy Act 2004 provides that the terms and conditions of the senior executives of the NDA are to be determined by the non-executives. Pay for NDA staff is covered by pay remits. There is no other formal role for the Government either in setting or approving salaries and bonusesDetails of the how much the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority paid its staff in (a) performance-related payments and (b) other payments, allowances and benefits in addition to their core salary in each of the last four years, together with the number and proportion of staff receiving such payments, and the monetary value of the 20 largest payments, is set out in the following tables: Financial YearTotal Performance Related PaymentsNumber receiving Performance related PaymentsPercentage receiving Performance Related PaymentsTotal Value of largest 20 payments2010/11£4,062,91029482.8%£706,2752011/12£3,381,93927092.2%£881,3122012/13£3,230,11028689.7%£799,0832013/14£3,099,81029591.3%£741,560 Note: the information above includes the NDA Chief Executive and Executive Directors  Financial YearOther payments, allowances and benefits paidNumber receiving other payments, allowances and benefitsPercentage receiving other payments, allowances and benefitsTotal Value of largest 20 payments2010/11£1,142,03618050.7%£375,2392011/12£1,058,70715352.2%£397,6042012/13£962,72314645.8%£326,9052013/14£949,29514946.1%£362,542 Note: the information above includes the NDA Chief Executive and Executive Directors

Energy: Meters

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2015 to Question 220385, what the purposes and functions are of the Smart Metering Implementation Programme; and whether consideration was given to seeking payment of the costs of that programme from the energy companies.

Amber Rudd: The Smart Metering Implementation Programme sets the policy and regulatory framework under which energy suppliers roll out smart meters across Great Britain. It ensures that the benefits of the rollout are delivered to consumers and to Great Britain as a whole.No consideration was given to seeking payment for the costs of the Smart Metering Implementation Programme from the energy companies.

Pay

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much was paid by his Department to its staff in each of the last four years in (a) performance-related payments and (b) other payments, allowances and benefits in addition to their core salary; how many and what proportion of officials received such payments; and what the monetary value of the 10 largest payments made in each such year was.

Amber Rudd: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) uses performance related pay to help drive high performance and to recognise exceptional contributions and achievements over and above what is expected of people in fulfilling their employment contracts. These payments, which are in-line with HM Treasury pay guidance, are cost effective as they are not consolidated into staff’s basic pay and have to be re-earned every year.All staff in the Department are eligible to receive performance in-year and end-of-year rewards.End-year non-consolidated performance awards are used to reward the department’s highest performers as assessed in their end of year appraisal reports.In-year awards are used to recognise and incentivise corporate behaviours and values which might not be fully reflected in a performance appraisal report. These may be used to reward staff for exceptional pieces of work or taking on additional responsibilities.Only the top 25% of Senior Civil Servants received a non-consolidated performance award and the maximum amounts were limited in line with cross-Government guidance.In order to improve efficiency while remaining accountable to the UK taxpayer, as well as to satisfy the requirements of the right to public data, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) regularly publishes information in the public domain on where and how money is spent – for example www.data.gov.uk shows who does what in the Department and its public bodies and how much they are paid (6 monthly), pay multiples are also included in the Annual Accounts and in line with the transparency agenda the Department discloses salaries at and above £150,000:http://reference.data.gov.uk/gov-structure/organogram/?dept=decc&post=1.The data for non-consolidated performance related payments for the last four year is available on the DECC website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/decc-non-consolidated-performance-related-payments, as required by Cabinet Office(a) Other payments, allowances and benefits in addition to staff core salary; how many and what proportion of officials received such payments; and what the monetary value of the 10 largest payments made in each such year.A breakdown of this data is enclosed in tables belowTable 1PeriodFeb 2011- Jan 2012Feb 2012- Jan 2013Feb 2013- Jan 2014Feb 2014- Jan 2015Allowance payments (£)£2,304,678£2,711,421 £3,034,422 £3,566,443 Headcount11701286.011432.661519.93Number of staff receiving an allowance392 437494572%34%34%34%38% Table 2Period/Amount of paymentFeb 2011- Jan 2012Feb 2012- Jan 2013Feb 2013- Jan 2014Feb 2014- Jan 20151£35,998£37,790£39,500£39,5002£35,808£36,358£36,000£36,0003£34,891£35,185£34,600£34,6004£34,836£34,891£32,000£32,0005£30,812£31,121£34 891£27,0006£30,713£28,632£24,000£24,0007£28,348£22,848£23,000£23,0008£27,264£22,553£17,000*£17,000*9£22,621£22,235£16,000**£16,000**10£22,235£20,359£15,000£15,000 The above amounts reflect the exceptional positioning of the Department with the majority of these (except the ones marked otherwise) relating to the Departments aspiration to secure delivery of its challenging Oil and Gas agenda.1. Because of the unique circumstances presently found in the oil and gas industry, the Department agreed with the Cabinet Office and Treasury to make new, targeted, non -consolidated, non-pensionable market-related recruitment and retention allowances available to its oil and gas specialists. These allowances were determined by the following factors:2. The total reward package – which must be affordable, evidence-based and informed through pay surveys (around the market median) that reflects the oil and gas “service market” (e.g. suppliers) and not the “operators market” (e.g. BP, Shell etc.) in line with the department’s position is that it is neither appropriate, nor sustainable to align with the “operators”3. Reward principles such as the Public sector pay policy, affordability and practice within the Civil Service, the oil and gas specialist know-how and skills that require any pay enhancements and provides for performance-based pay progression.4. That any pay arrangements for these specialists must be informed by a national recruitment market (that is UK-wide), while recognising that Aberdeen provides a unique concentration of oil and gas specialist workers.*Commercial Specialist Ring-fenced AllowanceAs an integral part of the review of commercial skills within the Department, linked directly to Lord Deighton’s work to improve the commercial capability within key infrastructure Departments, DECC also received an exceptional approval from Cabinet Office and Treasury to introduce variable non-consolidated, non-pensionable Pay enhancement of up to a maximum £17,000 to a limited number of predefined roles, all of which are on two year fixed-term contracts, which have been identified as business critical and at high retention risk. ** Pivotal Role AllowanceThere is also a small number of staff who are in receipt of Pivotal Role Allowance as per the recommendation of the SSRB to address recruitment and retention issues for critical roles such as Senior Responsibility Officers.

Fuel Poverty

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will make it his policy to implement the Affordable Warmth Manifesto published by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition in September 2014.

Amber Rudd: There has been a constant decrease in fuel poverty since 2010, Government is committed to tackling fuel poverty.We have a strong package of policies delivering assistance to the fuel poor, these include; The Energy Company Obligation (ECO), The Warm Home Discount Scheme, The Big Energy Saving Network, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments. The Affordable Warmth element of ECO alone has delivered around 398,000 measures to around 313,000 low income and vulnerable households to the end of November 2014.In addition, we have introduced a new fuel poverty target for England to ensure that as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency standard of Band C by 2030.

Solar Power

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many households have installed solar panels in each year since May 2010.

Amber Rudd: Holding answer received on 09 February 2015



The table below shows the number of domestic PV solar installations deployed in Great Britain each year since May 2010.PeriodNumber of installations during period2010 (May to December)18,6642011189,2612012148,222201387,502201488,199Source: Ofgem Feed-in Tariff Installation Report (available at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/feed-tariff-installation-report-31-december-2014). For Northern Ireland, data on PV solar installations are not available segregated for households.As at 31 December 2014, there were a total of 538,072 domestic solar PV installations in Great Britain confirmed on the Central Feed-in Tariff Register.Source: DECC Feed-in Tariff statistics (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics).

Wind Power

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many households have installed wind turbines in each year since May 2010.

Amber Rudd: Holding answer received on 09 February 2015



The table below shows the number of domestic wind turbine installations deployed in Great Britain each year since May 2010.PeriodNumber of installations during period2010 (May to December)253201171020121,67720133092014344Source: Ofgem Feed-in Tariff Installation Report (available at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/feed-tariff-installation-report-31-december-2014). For Northern Ireland, data on wind turbine installations are not available segregated for households.As at 31 December 2014, there were a total of 4,105 domestic wind turbine installations in Great Britain confirmed on the Central Feed-in Tariff Register.Source: DECC Feed-in Tariff statistics (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics).

Biofuels

Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to his Department's report, Life Cycle Impacts of Biomass Electricity in 2020, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report's conclusion that biomass can have the same environmental effects as fossil fuel; and if he will make a statement.

Amber Rudd: The report on the Life Cycle Impacts of Biomass Electricity in 2020 showed that biomass, when sourced responsibly, can provide a cost-effective, low carbon and controllable source of renewable energy. The Government has introduced some of the toughest sustainability criteria in the world and we have taken steps to strengthen them further, including by bringing forward proposals for mandatory sustainability requirements. The Department has committed to improving on the evidence base provided by the report. In December a tender was issued for a research contract to investigate the likelihood of occurrence in the period to 2030 of the scenarios identified in the report as potentially having higher carbon impacts than fossil fuelled alternatives.

Biofuels

Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to paragraph 68 of his Department's report, Life Cycle Impacts of Biomass Electricity in 2020, if he will make an assessment of the need to include those factors listed in that paragraph that are not included in the methodology to calculate the effects of biomass on the environment; and if he will make a statement.

Amber Rudd: The Government’s bioenergy strategy published in 2012 established that future bioenergy policy should seek to ensure genuine carbon savings. The report, Life Cycle Impacts of Biomass Electricity in 2020, showed that biomass, when sourced responsibly, can provide a cost-effective, low carbon and controllable source of renewable energy.The Government has introduced some of the toughest sustainability criteria in the world and we have taken steps to strengthen them further, including by bringing forward proposals for mandatory sustainability requirements. We also continue to develop the evidence on the wider impacts of bioenergy.

Energy: Meters

Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate his Department has made of the average reduction in annual household energy consumption from installing a smart meter.

Amber Rudd: Our central estimate of the gross annual reductions in energy demand for domestic consumers is 2.8% for electricity (credit and pre-payment meters), and 2% for gas credit and 0.5% for gas pre-payment meters when using smart meters in conjunction with In Home Displays.

Fracking

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Government response to the report from the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society on shale gas extraction in the UK: a review of hydraulic fracturing, published in December 2012, how many of the recommendations in that report which were accepted by the Government have been implemented.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 09 February 2015



The Government accepted all of Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering’s recommendations made in their report. We have implemented the majority of recommendations in full, for example:· We have introduced a requirement, through the Infrastructure Act, that the Secretary of State will not issue a hydraulic fracturing consent unless a range of conditions have been met. These include that appropriate arrangements have been made for the monitoring of emissions of methane into the air, the independent inspection of the integrity of the relevant well and for the environmental impact to be taken into account by the local planning authority.· The British Geological Survey has published regional data on tectonic history and faulting in many prospective areas and DECC set out new requirements for operators to control seismic risks, including a ‘traffic light’ system to pause or halt fracking if unusual seismic activity is detected.· DECC now requires operators to compile an Environmental Risk Assessment, with the participation of the local community, at an early stage of developing shale gas projects. This is in addition to extensive guidance to drive high standards throughout the lifecycle of a project.· The Infrastructure Act includes the requirement for relevant water companies to be statutory consultees. We continue to respond as exploratory wells provide more data and information. For example, DECC is working with the industry to develop appropriate monitoring for the period after production ceases and the well is decommissioned.

Fracking

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which body will maintain and regulate the seismic activities of companies fracking at depth for shale gas and intervene in the event of 0.5 on the Richter scale being reached.

Matthew Hancock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change will maintain and regulate controls to mitigate risks of seismic activity, including requiring developers to submit a Hydraulic Fracturing Plan providing for a traffic light system.

Fracking

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations he has received on self monitoring by fracking companies for shale gas; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: The Department has received representations about self-monitoring from various parties, including members of the public, NGOs and a Minerals Planning Authority.

Fracking

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which regulator regulates the activities of all regulators for fracking activities.

Matthew Hancock: Each regulator is accountable to parliament as an agency or public body and we aim not to duplicate those mechanisms.DECC has the policy lead. It works closely with regulators and industry to ensure that regulation is as efficient as possible whilst remaining robust to safeguard public safety and protect the environment.

Fracking

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if his Department will exercise the precautionary principle for each application for a licence to frack hydraulically for shale gas.

Matthew Hancock: The licences do not give permission for any operation, including hydraulic fracturing. I can confirm that we will require a hydraulic fracturing plan to be submitted for any fracturing of shale, which must be approved by DECC before the fracturing operations commence. We have one of the most robust regulatory systems in the world for shale gas, including a traffic light system to measure seismic activity to allow operations to be suspended if activity is detected above a defined level.

Fracking

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the role is of the Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil in regulation and oversight of onshore fracking activities for shale gas.

Matthew Hancock: The Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil is part of DECC. It works closely with regulators and industry to ensure that regulation is as efficient as possible whilst remaining robust to safeguard public safety and protect the environment.

Energy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will amend the Social and Environment Statutory Guidance to the Gas and Electric Market Authority to include families with children as a vulnerable group.

Amber Rudd: The Ofgem Review of 2010-11 recommended that the Social and Environmental Statutory Guidance to the Gas and Electricity Market Authority should be replaced with a new Strategy and Policy Statement. The guidance will be repealed once the statement is designated. The draft statement, which Government consulted on last year, makes it clear that helping vulnerable households is one of the Government’s strategic priorities to which Ofgem should have regard to when carrying out its regulatory functions.

Energy: Conservation

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress has been made in implementing his Department's Energy Efficiency Strategy, published in November 2012.

Amber Rudd: The UK has established itself as a world leader on energy efficiency. The 2012 Energy Efficiency Strategy outlined the Government’s ambition to realise the energy efficiency opportunity in the UK.UK final energy consumption has fallen in eight of the last nine years. The Government’s energy efficiency policies have contributed to a 20% decline in household energy and since 2010 over 1 Million homes have recovered energy efficiency measures use since 2004. The overall energy intensity of the UK’s economy has fallen by 22% over the same period.As a result the UK is now on track to achieve the energy saving targets established by the 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive.

Fossil Fuels: Exploration

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the inspection process is for onshore gas and oil exploration.

Matthew Hancock: Onshore oil and gas exploration must be approved by the relevant environmental agency and the Health and Safety Executive and pass through the planning system. Consent from DECC is also required before drilling activities can commence.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the finding of the Evaluation of the Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme Phase Two, published by his Department on 28 January 2015, that 78 per cent of renewable heating installations in private homes were likely or very likely to have gone ahead in the absence of subsidy, what assessment he has made of the scope to revise that scheme to ensure better value for money.

Amber Rudd: Holding answer received on 12 February 2015



The Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme ran from August 2011 to the end of March 2014, when it closed to new applicants. Renewable heat installations in private homes are now supported through the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).

Wind Power

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress he has made on addressing manufacturers selling wind turbines which have been de-rated to allow them to benefit from higher tariffs within the feed-in tariff; and if he will make a statement.

Amber Rudd: We are closely monitoring the impact of de-rating wind developers are found to be unfairly exploiting the FiTs scheme we will act to stop it.

Wind Power

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many wind turbines have been deployed in each county within the 100-500kW feed-in tariff to date.

Amber Rudd: Information on regional breakdown of FIT deployment is published quarterly, including a break down by technology and Local Authority area here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics.

Wind Power

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many medium wind turbines deemed excessively de-rated have been granted pre-accreditation or have been commissioned in (a) 1 April 2010 to 30 November 2012 at £22.16 per kWh, (b) 1 December 2012 to 31 March 2014 at £18.83 per kWh, (c) 1 April 2014 to 30 September 2014 at £15.06 per kWh, (d) 1 October 2014 to 31 March 2015 at £13.55 per kWh and (e) 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 at £12.05 per kWh.

Amber Rudd: We are closely monitoring the extent of de-rating and its impact.

Wind Power

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when his Department first became aware of wind turbines being excessively de-rated in order for generators to benefit from higher than intended feed-in tariffs; and if he will make a statement.

Amber Rudd: We are actively monitoring the extent of de-rating and will consider whether action is necessary to prevent wind developers from unfairly exploiting the FITs scheme.

Renewable Energy: Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the use of renewable energy in Northern Ireland.

Amber Rudd: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State met with the Northern Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment Arlene Foster on 2 February. They discussed the future of the renewable electricity support scheme in Northern Ireland.

Public Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what his Department's expenditure was in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Wales in 2014.

Amber Rudd: The Department of Energy and Climate Change's expenditure for the financial year 2013-2014 was in (a) England £2,445.6m, (b) Scotland £437.2m, (c) Northern Ireland £1.8m and (d) Wales £117.4m.Expenditure that is incurred for the benefit of the UK as a whole and cannot be disseminated by individual country or region is excluded from these amounts.The figures are published annually and can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2014

Energy: Meters

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will take steps to limit the amount energy suppliers can charge consumers for the introduction of smart meters.

Amber Rudd: The Government has introduced regulation to ensure that there will be no upfront charges to consumers for the introduction of smart meters.The Government’s approach to minimising costs and ensuring cost savings from smart metering are passed on to consumers is embedded in the strategy of mandating an energy supplier-led roll out. As commercial entities competing for customers, energy suppliers are incentivised to minimise costs and maximise cost savings. Where suppliers do not keep their customer offer and prices competitive, customers will be able to switch to a new energy supplier.The Government and Ofgem are committed to further enhancing retail energy competition. To this end, Ofgem has referred the retail energy market to the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate if features of the market are having an adverse effect on competition and, if so, what reforms would make competition even more effective.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what communications he has had with the European Commission in respect of his plans to hold a departmental golden share in the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.

Matthew Hancock: DECC officials had initial discussions with the Commission on the possibility of a special (or ‘golden’) share for the Hinkley Point C project. Any arrangement will be designed to be fully compliant with existing EU legislation.

Overseas Investment: India

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions he or his officials have had with their counterparts in UK Trade & Investment, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the Bangalore/Mumbai Economic Corridor; what recent progress has been made on UK participation in that project; and if he will make a statement.

Amber Rudd: DECC Ministers and officials meet regularly with Ministers and officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UKTI to discuss a range of issues. Her Majesty’s Government continues to engage with India on the Bangalore/Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC). BMEC was most recently discussed on 11 February in a meeting between Chief Executive of UKTI, Dominic Jermey, and Indian Commerce Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. We are looking forward to seeing the outcome of the BMEC perspective plan.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much land is currently held by NDA Properties Limited; and what the use, value and location is of that land.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much land has been sold by NDA Properties Limited in each of the last five years; and how much has been raised as a result of those sales.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the amount of land that will be sold by NDA Properties Limited in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16; and what estimate he has made of the revenue likely to be raised by those sales.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much NDA Properties Limited receive in income from its land and property holdings in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Wind Power: Noise

Sir James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he is taking to bring the ETSU-R-97 assessment methodology for calculating the noise impact of wind turbine generators in line with current World Health Organisation guidelines.

Amber Rudd: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much land required for (a) nuclear licensed sites, (b) operational purposes, (c) NDA offices and (d) other purposes is currently owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (i) directly and (ii) through subsidiaries including NDA Properties Limited.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Offshore Industry

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 223360, what proportion of the 1,000 skilled people he expects to be UK-based; and whether he expects these people to be subject to a collective bargaining agreement.

Matthew Hancock: The information requested is not available.

Rio Tinto Group

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether any employees of Rio Tinto plc has been seconded to his Department in the last five years.

Amber Rudd: No employees of Rio Tinto plc have been seconded to the Department of Energy & Climate Change in the last five years.

Rio Tinto Group

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether any former officials of his Department have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.

Amber Rudd: Our Business Appointments register shows that no former civil servant has taken employment with Rio Tinto plc immediately after leaving the Department of Energy & Climate Change.

Electricity

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many electricity customers switched to an independent supplier in each month of 2014.

Matthew Hancock: Ahead of the Government’s ‘Power to Switch’ campaign to encourage people to switch supplier and save money the most recent industry switching data produced by Energy UK and Electralink shows the number of electricity customers switching to in an independent supplier in each month of 2014 to be:Jan-14 86,253Feb-14 90,056Mar-14 101,002Apr-14 119,022May-14 108,904Jun-14 99,199Jul-14 82,690Aug-1484,107Sep-14113,883Oct-14 114,275Nov-1485,741Dec-1470,364

Electricity: Prices

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of regional differences in the cost of electricity to domestic consumers.

Matthew Hancock: Regional electricity bills, based on fixed consumption levels are published in Quarterly Energy Prices, table 2.2.3:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/annual-domestic-energy-price-statistics Annual 2014 UK electricity bills by PES (Public Electricity Supply) Region RegionCredit Direct debit Prepayment OverallEast Midlands£592£548£597£568Eastern£594£548£598£567London£608£562£611£589Merseyside & North Wales£663£610£658£634North East£619£568£616£589North Scotland£667£616£669£638North West£620£575£625£596Northern Ireland£685£645£663£662South East£611£563£614£581South Scotland£608£557£601£578South Wales£648£598£652£622South West£645£599£649£618Southern£614£567£617£584West Midlands£621£565£616£590Yorkshire£614£559£607£583UK£618£570£623£592Data published are based on a fixed annual consumption of 3,800kWh.

Hydroelectric Power

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the average cost of connecting community hydro-electric schemes to the National Grid in the last five years.

Amber Rudd: When setting the Feed-in Tariff for hydro schemes of any size in 2012, our economists took into account both capital and operating costs, including the costs of grid connection. Our capex costs were all estimated using the following report:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/42912/5900-update-of-nonpv-data-for-feed-in-tariff-.pdf/.However, each scheme is different and cost can vary greatly, including for grid connection, and we do not have specific data for community schemes.

Energy: Debts

Mr Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of how many families with children are currently in debt to their energy companies.

Matthew Hancock: The Department does not hold information on how many families with children are in debt to their energy companies.Ofgem closely monitors domestic energy suppliers’ performance and publishes information in relation to debt owed by domestic electricity and gas accounts holders in Great Britain, but they do not publish data relating to families with children.

Energy: Debts

Mr Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if the Government will take steps to prioritise support for families with children when they fall behind on their bills to energy companies.

Matthew Hancock: This Government has implemented a range of measures to help vulnerable households reduce their energy bills, including Cold Weather Payments and the Warm Home Discount.For those customers who fall behind on payments, suppliers are obliged to take their ability to pay into account when setting a repayment plan. Some suppliers also provide special grants and services to help families. Further information is available free from the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99.

Energy: Meters

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information energy suppliers are required to provide (a) his Department and (b) Ofgem to assist with monitoring the roll-out of smart meters to vulnerable, low income and pre-payment meter customers.

Amber Rudd: On an annual basis larger suppliers are required to provide the Department with a qualitative report on their roll-out strategies, including plans to engage with vulnerable and pre-payment customers. Smaller suppliers are also required to provide annual data on their plans for engaging vulnerable customers. Low income households are not defined as a separate category.The Department also collects quarterly data from larger energy suppliers which includes details of smart meters installed and operated in pre-payment mode, and details of their plans for installing smart meters, including where those meters will be operated in pre-payment mode. The same information is collected annually from small suppliers.Ofgem collects data from the larger suppliers on the number of pre-payment meters that have been replaced with smart meters, and from January 2016 suppliers will report on the number of customers on the Priority Services Register who have a smart meter installed. This data will be collected annually. The larger suppliers will also shortly be submitting qualitative roll-out plans to Ofgem, explaining how they plan to develop their IT systems to support the rollout of smart pre-payment.Separately, Ofgem is reviewing suppliers’ policies and practices relating to charges for installing and removing pre-payment meters, which will also cover aspects of smart meter services. The review will also look at company practices in relation to security deposits, including for customers with smart meters. Ofgem will report on its findings in summer 2015.

Private Rented Housing: Energy

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment his Department has made of the resources needed by local authorities to enforce a minimum energy efficiency standard for the private rented sector.

Amber Rudd: Section 8.1.3 of the policy’s final stage impact assessment contains information regarding the Department’s assessment of resources required by local authorities.

Housing: Energy

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many households that have had a smart meter installed in their property have also had one or more unique energy efficiency measures installed in their property under the Energy Companies Obligation scheme.

Amber Rudd: The Department’s quarterly data on smart meter installations is currently collected from energy suppliers in an aggregated format, rather than at a household level.As a result, it is not possible to ascertain through data linking how many Energy Companies' Obligation measures (where the data are collected at household level, and reported on monthly as National Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-statistics) have been fitted in households where smart meters have been installed.

Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what guidance his Department provides to its managers on how many days training should be made available to staff.

Amber Rudd: DECC encourages all staff to take at least 5 days of targeted learning and development each year. This forms part of our commitment to the Civil Service Capabilities Plan.

Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the average number of days training of full-time equivalent staff employed in his Department was in each of the last three financial years.

Amber Rudd: DECC does not hold this information centrally. Gathering this information from individual and local records would incur disproportionate costs.

Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what his Department's training budget was in each of the last three financial years.

Amber Rudd: DECC’s training budgets for the last three years were: (£k)2011-122012-132013-14Training budget3,2363,0523,512

Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much his Department spent on training in each of the last three financial years.

Amber Rudd: (£k)2011-122012-132013-14Staff Training3,3643,8614,017

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 222829, how much of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's expenditure on support costs was for (a) research and technology, (b) IT, (c) security, (d) facilities, (e) programme management, (f) procurement, (g) human resources, (h) finance, (i) head-office costs, (j) environment, health safety and quality, (k) regulatory engagement and (l) communications in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 222829, what the (a) research and technology, (b) IT, (c) security, (d) facilities, (e) programme management, (f) procurement, (g) human resources, (h) finance, (i) head-office costs, (j) environment, health safety and quality, (k) regulatory engagement and (l) communications support costs were for each of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's site licence companies in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: The information requested is not available.

Nuclear Management Partners

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 222816, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed under reachback contracts in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Nuclear Management Partners

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much Nuclear Management Partners has received in executive staff costs in each year since it became the parent body organisation for Sellafield Ltd.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Attorney General

Contempt of Court

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Attorney General, what recent steps he has taken to promote awareness of the laws on contempt of court among social media users.

Mr Robert Buckland: Where appropriate the Attorney General and I publish online the warnings about potentially prejudicial reporting that Attorneys General had previously only given to the mainstream media. My office also sends tweets warning social media users of the risks of being in contempt of court.   In addition, the Attorney General has recently issued advice to social media users and others that identifying a victim in a sexual offence case is a criminal offence.  We continue to look at whether there is anything more that can be done to raise awareness in this area.

HSBC

Paul Flynn: To ask the Attorney General, what discussions he has had with the Crown Prosecution Service in respect of the possibility of prosecuting HSBC Bank for conspiracy to assist some of its customers to evade paying tax.

Mr Robert Buckland: The Attorney General and I frequently meet representatives of the Crown Prosecution Service to discuss a variety of issues. However, as was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s policy to provide details of all such meetings.

Genetics: Human Rights

Jim Shannon: To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Article 3, Part 2 and the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine to interventions aimed at modifying the genome of the recipient's descendants.

Jeremy Wright: By convention whether or not I have given advice or conducted legal assessments, is not disclosed outside of Government.

Roads: Accidents

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the report from HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary entitled Joint Inspection of the Investigation and Prosecution of Fatal Road Traffic Incidents, published in February 2015.

Jeremy Wright: It is clear from the joint HMIC and HMCPSI report that there must be improvements in the way offences arising out of fatal road traffic incidents are investigated and prosecuted. It is therefore vital that police forces give due regard to the recommendations made in the report. However, it is rightly a matter for chief constables and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to ascertain how best to respond to the recommendations locally. Under Section 55 (5) of the Police Act 1996, all PCCs have a statutory requirement to publish their response to joint inspection reports that relate to their force. The CPS must provide the best possible service to the bereaved families in these cases. Whilst many of the recommended improvements have been achieved through more general development of CPS casework and guidance, there is clearly more which needs to be done. In order to make the improvements necessary to the prosecution of offences arising out of fatal road traffic accidents, the CPS is taking or has committed to take the following steps: The introduction of accredited specialist prosecutors in each of the CPS Areas to prosecute these cases.New mandatory training on the prosecution of fatal road traffic incidents to include case analysis and strategy, and how the CPS communicates with bereaved families.CPS Area Coordinators to ensure that these sensitive and difficult cases receive the specialist attention they deserve and attract good quality, consistent decision making.Amending guidance to remind prosecutors of the circumstances in which it is appropriate to charge assaults that arise from driving a motor vehicle.Amending guidance to add a reference to the Criminal Practice Direction on acceptance of pleas in its Guidance on Charging Driving Offences.A review of the flagging process of these cases to increase the accuracy of figures.Consideration of better CPS Area access to appeals unit case reviews.Consideration of existing protocols with police forces with the intention of drafting a model protocol for CPS Areas to agree with local forces.

Prosecutions: Public Interest

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the criteria used to determine whether or not a prosecution is in the public interest.

Jeremy Wright: Decisions on whether prosecutions are in the public interest are guided by the Code for Crown Prosecutors and CPS Legal Guidance. The Code is produced by the Director of Public Prosecutions after significant public consultation. The CPS Legal Guidance is available for the public to see on the CPS website at http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/ . There have been seven versions of the Code since 1986 and it was last updated in January 2013.

Fraud: Prosecutions

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Attorney General, whether he has issued a direction under 4(b) of the Protocol Between the Attorney General and the Prosecuting Departments to the Serious Fraud Office on a case under investigation by that office in the last four months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Buckland: It would not be appropriate to give a running commentary on SFO investigations. I am aware of the provisions within paragraph 4(b)4 of the Protocol, which state that if any such direction were to be made then I would make a report to Parliament, so far as was compatible with national security.

Fraud

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2014 to Question 207315, whether a Shawcross exercise has been conducted in relation to Serious Fraud Office investigations since the date of that Answer; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The Attorney General's Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Wales Office

Wrexham-Bidston Railway Line

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government and Merseyrail on electrification of the Wrexham to Bidston railway line.

Alun Cairns: On 30 January, I held a transport summit with businesses and local stakeholders in north Wales including Merseytravel and Arriva Trains Wales. The summit discussed transport priorities across north Wales and the case for investing in cross border routes including the rail line between Wrexham and Bidston.

Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what his Department's training budget was in each of the last three financial years.

Alun Cairns: The Wales Office budget for training over the last three financial years is set out below: Financial YearTraining Spend (£)2012-1325,0002013-1425,0002014-1520,000

Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department spent on training in each of the last three financial years.

Alun Cairns: The Wales Office spend in 2011-12 was £27,091, £6,043 in 2012-13 and £11,148 in 2013-14.

Ministry of Justice

Parc Prison

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 221960, how many prisoners were recruited to the credit union at Parc Prison in each month in 2014-15; what steps he has taken to increase the number of prisoners being so recruited; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Selous: 19 prisoners joined the credit union during 2014. The table below gives the latest monthly breakdown:  MonthJoinersJan3Feb9Mar1Apr0May1Jun5Jul0Aug0Sep0Oct0Nov0Dec0  Leaflets and posters are provided to make prisoners aware of the service and it is also promoted by staff during the induction process. The prison is in discussion with the credit union about further ways to promote the service.

Prisons: Private Sector

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers took sick leave in each privately run prison in England and Wales in each month since March 2014.

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sick leave days were taken by prison officers in each privately-run prison in England and Wales in each month since March 2014.

Andrew Selous: Although the contracted-out prisons submit staff sickness absence data to the National Offender Management Service for use in the prison rating system, this relates to all staff and does not provide a breakdown by grade, such as prison officer. Figures for average working days lost relating to total full-time equivalent staff in the contracted prisons for 2013-14 are published in the Excel document entitled ‘Prison rating system dataset 2013 to 2014’ at the following location: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-201314. Please see in particular column BE of the sheet labelled ‘Data’. Figures for 2014-15 will be published on 30 July at the following web page: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics. Please note that specific staffing arrangements and the management of sickness absence of staff in the contracted out prisons is the responsibility of the individual contractors and not Ministry of Justice (MoJ). However, MoJ closely monitors the performance of private prisons and we ensure appropriate numbers of staff are in place to deliver safe and secure regimes in every public and privately-run prison.

Internet: Bullying

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to increase the sentences available in cases of the cyber-bullying of students.

Mike Penning: The sending of abusive messages or material online can cause misery for victims and is an issue the Government takes extremely seriously. That is why we are changing the law through the Criminal Justice and Courts Act to increase the maximum sentence to two years in prison for the offence of sending abusive or offensive material online with intent to cause distress or anxiety. We are also changing the law to enable prosecutions to take place three years after the alleged offence, rather than six months. There are a number of other serious penalties available in cases of cyber bullying of students. Under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, the offences of harassment causing alarm or distress or putting people in fear of violence carry a maximum of six months and five years imprisonment respectively. There is also an offence under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 of sending material which is indecent, grossly offensive, obscene or menacing. It carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment. In addition, guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council stipulate that it is an aggravating factor if an offence is committed against a vulnerable victim or involves abuse of a position of power. Sentencing guidelines can be found on the Sentencing Council’s website, and courts are obliged to follow the guidelines unless it is not in the interests of justice to do so.

Legal Aid Scheme

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to impose a residence test for legal aid.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Legal aid is a fundamental part of our justice system, but resources are not limitless. The Government believe that individuals should have a strong connection to the UK in order to benefit from the civil legal aid scheme. We believe the residence test we proposed is a fair and proportionate way to demonstrate that connection. The proposed residence test was challenged by way of judicial review brought by the Public Law Project. We are disappointed with the High Court judgement and have been granted permission to appeal. The appeal has been listed for 16 and 17 June 2015 in the Court of Appeal.

Domestic Violence: Legal Aid Scheme

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has recieved from (a) the Law Society, (b) Rights of Women and (c) other organisations on legal aid for victims of domestic violence.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Ministers and officials maintain a regular dialogue with key stakeholders on matters such as domestic violence. It was as a result of this type of engagement that we made changes last year to make it easier for people to access legal aid in domestic violence cases.

Prisons: Restraint Techniques

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of use of force resulted in (a) minor and (b) serious injuries in each private prison in England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of use of force there were in each private prison in England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been transferred to an external hospital following an incident of use of force in each private prison in England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous: Unfortunately it has not been possible to fully extract the relevant data with regards to this question in the given timeframe. I will write to the Hon. Member when I am able to provide a response.

Homicide

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made in implementing each of the recommendations of the review into the needs of families bereaved by homicide, published by his Department in July 2011.

Mike Penning: In July 2011 we published the Review into the Needs of Families Bereaved by Homicide by Louise Casey (then Victims’ Commissioner). She made a wide range of recommendations. Since then we have worked closely with victims and victims’ organisations and the report’s findings have played a critical role in informing our approach to ensuring that families get the help they need. This includes plans to implement a victims law to put into statute the right of the victim to tell a court how a crime has affected them, providing families of homicide victims with a copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks following the trial, and funding a dedicated national Homicide Service with more than £2million a year to support those affected by homicide at home and abroad. Further information requested is in the table attached. 



Review into Needs of Families Bereaved by Homicide
(Word Document, 72.5 KB)

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 223157, how many times (a) aggravated damages and (b) exemplary damages have been awarded following a civil claim brought by (i) victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and (ii) victims of trafficking for labour exploitation or forced labour.

Mike Penning: I refer the Hon. Member to my Answers of 2 and 9 February to Questions 221878, 221879, 221883, the answer to which can be found on the Parliamentary website at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-01-23/221878/ and 223157, the answer to which can be found on the Parliamentary website at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=223157 . Figures in relation to the number of civil claims brought by victims of trafficking and the award of aggravated and exemplary damages are not available. However, we are confident that the courts will award such damages wherever it is appropriate to do so.

Magistrates

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average age was of a magistrate on 1 April (a) 1989, (b) 1994, (c) 2000, (d) 2005, (e) 2010 and (f) 2014.

Mr Shailesh Vara: We encourage applications from people from all walks of life who have the necessary skills, and we will continue to work to ensure that our magistrates reflect the make-up of modern Britain. Average age data for the magistracy is not recorded for 1989, 1994, and 2000. The available data is shown below. YearAverage Age 200556201058201459

Magistrates

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of magistrates were aged (a) over 65, (b) 55 to 65, (c) 45 to 55, (d) 35 to 45, (e) 25 to 35 and (f) under 25 on 1 April (i) 1989, (ii) 1994, (iii) 2000, (iv) 2005, (v) 2010 and (vi) 2014.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Magistrates from diverse backgrounds are vital in retaining public confidence in our justice system. We encourage applications from people from all walks of life who have the necessary skills, and we will continue to work to ensure that our magistrates reflect the make-up of modern Britain. Age diversity data for the magistracy is not recorded for 1989, 1994 and 2000. The available data is capable of being reported in the categories shown below. Year Under 3030-3940-4950-5960-702005>1%>4%15%42%39%2010>1%>4%14%31%51%2014>1%>3%12%28%57%

Magistrates

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of magistrates were (a) female, (b) male and (c) of BAME origin on 1 April (i) 1989, (ii) 1994, (iii) 2000, (iv) 2005, (v) 2010 and (vi) 2014.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Magistrates from diverse backgrounds are vital in retaining public confidence in our justice system. We encourage applications from people from all walks of life who have the necessary skills, and we will continue to work to ensure that our magistrates reflect the make-up of modern Britain. Ethnic diversity data for the magistracy is not recorded for 1989, 1994, and 2000. The available data is shown below. Year MaleFemaleBAME198957%43%-199454%46%-200051%49%-200550%50%7%201049%51%8%201448%52%9%

Magistrates

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many magistrates there were on 1 April (a) 1989, (b) 1994, (c) 2000, (d) 2005, (e) 2010 and (f) 2014.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The number of Magistrates for the period requested are: Year (at 1 April)Magistrates198928,211199430,054200030,308200528,253201028,607201421,745

Prison Service

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers who have received severance or redundancy packages since May 2010, have subsequently been re-employed as prison officers.

Andrew Selous: 50 prison officers who received a severance package since May 2010 have subsequently been re-employed as prison officers (up to 30 September 2014). The majority of the officers who have been re-employed have returned on a fixed-term basis as part of the HM Prison Service Reserves, which has been established to support capacity changes and fluctuations in staffing numbers. In total less than 1% of the officers who received a severance package since May 2010 have returned to work for NOMS. This figure is rounded to the nearest 10, in line with the departmental policy for presenting staffing data.

Cabinet Office

Job Creation: Elmbridge

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many new jobs have been created in (a) Elmbridge and (b) Esher and Walton constituency since May 2010; and what the effect of such job creation has been on the level of unemployment in each of those areas.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Jobs created
(PDF Document, 153.29 KB)

Employment: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people were in full-time employment in Havering in each year since 2010.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Full-Time Employment
(PDF Document, 130.28 KB)

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Public Appointments

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for which organisations he has a role in deciding appointments to Trustee and Executive boards; which such organisations currently do not have full boards; which appointments to such boards are outstanding; what representations he has received on such outstanding appointments; and what discussions he has had on those appointments.

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what role he has in appointing people to the Trustee and Executive Boards of the (a) BBC Trust and (b) Imperial War Museum; what appointments to those Boards are outstanding; and what representations he has received on outstanding appointments to those Boards.

Mr Edward Vaizey: ​The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport's role in deciding appointments to Trustee and Executive Boards, including the BBC Trust and Imperial War Museum is set out in the attached table.The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has not received any representations on outstanding appointments at either the BBC Trust or the Imperial War Museum. ​



Table for PQ 223267, 223268
(Excel SpreadSheet, 12.07 KB)

Telecommunications

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his Department's impact assessment of the reform of the Electronic Communications Code, published on 16 January 2015, for what reason the Government did not publish that assessment in time for it to inform the debate on that code in the Public Bill Committee on the Infrastructure Bill [Lords] on 15 January 2015.

Mr Edward Vaizey: This was an oversight. Once that oversight became clear we sought to publish the IA immediately.

Health

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Office for National Statistics' report, Measuring national well-being - An Analysis of Social Capital in the UK; and what recent assessment he has made of his Department's performance in contributing to national well-being.

Mrs Helen Grant: I welcome the ONS' analysis of Social Capital in the UK published on 29th Jan. DCMS officials are considering the implications of the report in the context of our own published evidence on the positive associations between culture, sport, volunteering and wellbeing.

Telecommunications

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate Ofcom has made of the proportion of (a) broadband users, (b) rural small and medium-sized enterprise broadband users, (c) mobile users and (d) television users that are dissatisfied with the service they receive.

Mr Edward Vaizey: According to Ofcom’s Consumer Experience Report published in January 2015, 9% of broadband users, 6% of mobile users, and 4 % of television users were dissatisfied with their service. The report gives no comparative figure for rural SMEs. This represents a fall in dissatisfaction levels since 2010 in broadband and TV, and a slight increase for mobile users. Our landmark mobile deal should make mobile users’ experiences altogether more satisfactory.

Video Games

Jim McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle the gender pay gap and (b) increase the number of women in the video games industry.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Changes to the national curriculum mean all children now have the opportunity to learn to code and initiatives such as the Your Life campaign, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Ambassadors help challenge gender stereotypes and encourage more girls to consider careers in the video games sector. ‪We are working with industry on developing new routes into video games development, including the Next Gen Skills Academy and Creative Skillset’s trainee placement scheme. Initiatives specifically designed to help address barriers to women working in the video games industry include the Next Gen Skills Academy's Gender Balance Workforce programme. This is investigating career challenges faced by women in the games industry and offering practical workshops and knowledge sharing, for employees and employers, based on the evidence collected.‪For women in the workforce the Government has extended the right to request flexible working to all employees, and is introducing a new system of shared parental leave from April 2015. To help women return to the sector Government will provide support for a dedicated platform to match STEM trained women graduates to return to jobs in industry following career breaks and to provide them with advice and information about support on offer.The Government will make free software available to all UK companies later this year which will enable them to calculate their gender pay gap easily, and help them identify issues preventing women from progressing in their career

BAFTA

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding BAFTA receives from his Department and its agencies; and what diversity guidance and requirements accompany that funding.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Department is providing funding to BAFTA of £18,870 in 2014-15 via Creative Skillset to support skills development in the sector.  BAFTA also receives £17.5K from the British Film Institute (BFI) for Film Academy work which is funded by the Department for Education. Although there are no specific diversity targets attached to this funding, Creative Skillset and BAFTA are committed to improving diversity across the sector and have met their diversity guidelines which are in place for all their funding and initiatives.

Telecommunications: Compensation

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance his Department issues on what compensation is payable for the loss of both landline and internet services for the period of 21 days; and if he will make a statement.

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to expedite the restoration of landline and internet services to more than 25 residences in Rillington and Sherburn in Ryedale following the breakage of a telephone pole on 20 January 2015.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom expects providers to resolve network faults, however caused, as quickly as possible. The regulator also expects providers to deal fairly and sympathetically with consumers who experience a loss of service as a result of network issues. This could include giving compensation or by allowing customers to exit their contract without penalty.The Communications Act requires telecoms providers to take appropriate measures to protect the security and resilience of their networks and services. When a security or availability incident occurs which has a significant impact on the operation of a network or service, the legislation requires the provider to report this to Ofcom. Ofcom monitors these reports closely and has the power to intervene if they believe a provider is not taking the appropriate measures. Ofcom has imposed minimum targets on Openreach requiring 80% of fault repairs to be completed within one to two working days of being notified and the company to report publicly on its performance, allowing Ofcom to monitor and intervene if required.Consumers can pursue claims for compensation caused by line outages by contacting their communications providers. If they are unhappy with the outcome of their complaint or how their complaint has been handled, they are able to pursue the case through the registered Alternative Dispute Resolution service – a free and impartial service that Ofcom requires all communications providers to have in place.

Mobile Phones: Hebrides

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2015 to Question 220134, whether the 90 per cent 4G geographical coverage will cover the Outer Hebrides.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The agreement announced on 18 December 2014 will improve coverage throughout the UK, and we expect the Scottish Islands will see one of the greatest improvements of any area. Under the agreement each mobile network operator (MNO) will provide voice and text coverage to at least 90% of the UK landmass by 2017, and we understand that data coverage will improve in many areas. This will lock in £5bn of investment in UK mobile infrastructure, halving partial not-spots and cutting complete not-spots by two-thirds. The MNOs have now made the agreed coverage obligations legally binding, by requesting that Ofcom vary their spectrum licences on a voluntary basis.

Football

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to adopt the measures contained in the Football Governance Bill.

Mrs Helen Grant: In recent years, the football authorities have introduced greater independence to the FA's main Board, stricter rules around club ownership, and improved financial transparency and reporting rules to ensure clubs are sustainably run.Government is allowing the football authorities more time to make the necessary reforms to the game themselves

Football

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will hold discussions with the English Premier League on increased investment in grassroots football, in response to the recent sale of broadcasting rights.

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to encourage the English Premier League to increase its investment in grassroots football in line with the increase in revenue arising from the recent sale of broadcast rights.

Mrs Helen Grant: I have regular discussions with the Premier League and will continue to press the importance that this huge investment needs to benefit the game as a whole. This includes benefiting clubs lower down the football pyramid, supporters, and the grassroots of the game, through increased investment in facilities, community programmes and other schemes.

Radio: Wycombe

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to arrange for licensing of the Wycombe Sound radio station to be expedited.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom is responsible for licensing community radio stations and has awarded over 270 licences to date. Ofcom conducts licensing in rounds and invites applicants from each region of the UK in turn. Ofcom has published timetables for the latest round of community radio licensing and anticipate inviting applications from the South East of England outside the M25 in the first half of 2015. For reasons of fairness, Ofcom assesses all the applications it receives in a region before awarding any licenses.

Football: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on issues arising from the measures contained in the Football Governance Bill.

Mrs Helen Grant: I have had no such discussions. It would be for the Scottish Government to work with the key football bodies in Scotland on governance matters as they saw fit. I continue to encourage the football authorities in England to introduce improved measures around regulation and governance to their sport.

ICT

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on the Digital Single Market.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I have regular discussions with the EU Commissioners on a range of matters. The UK wants the EU to create an open, flexible digital single market with a regulatory framework that reflects the dynamic nature of the digital economy.

Arts

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to promote UK creative industries in Europe.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The UK creative industries are a global success story, and the Government is working hard to ensure their continuing success at home, within Europe, and across the world. The introduction of new creative sector tax reliefs has provided a massive boost to the sector, and the promotion of UK service exports to Europe and other territories was worth £17.2bn in 2012, an 11.2% increase on the previous year. Over the next year, Government will provide support to UK creative companies to promote and showcase their products and services at 21 exhibitions and events across Europe, including the UK programme at Milan Expo and GREAT campaign activity in France. In addition, creative businesses received over E200m of funding through the European Commission's Media and Culture Programmes, and will also benefit from the new Creative Europe Programme launched last year.

Broadband: Rural Areas

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on the provision of superfast broadband to rural businesses in all parts of the UK.

Mr Edward Vaizey: In 2010 nearly half of UK premises could access superfast broadband. Current superfast broadband coverage is almost 80% of UK premises and the Government remains committed to providing 95% coverage by 2017. This will benefit rural businesses across the UK.  BDUK works with local authorities and the devolved administrations to determine how funding for broadband projects is deployed and where the roll out of superfast broadband is carried out.

Gambling: Advertising

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to publish the Government's response to the review of gambling advertising before the General Election.

Mrs Helen Grant: Yes.

Arts

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on UK creative industries.

Mr Edward Vaizey: A majority of EU Member States opposed including the audiovisual sector, including the creative industries, in TTIP, and is it not currently included in the EU negotiating mandate. However, overall TTIP has the potential to be the largest bilateral trade agreement in the world so it is clear it would bring significant economic benefits to the UK in terms of jobs and growth, as independent analysis has suggested.

Commonwealth

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the flag of the Commonwealth nations will fly on public buildings on Commonwealth Day 2015.

Mrs Helen Grant: The flags of the Commonwealth nations will fly on Parliament Square to mark Commonwealth Day on 9th March. Commonwealth Day is a designated day for the flying of the Union Flag on all UK Government Buildings, so the Union Flag takes precedence over other flags on this day. Other public authorities may be participating in the independent initiative ‘Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth’ by flying the Commonwealth Flag from their buildings on Commonwealth Day.

BBC

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the BBC about the funding of the BBC and its regional programming.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I have not held any recent discussions with the BBC regarding future funding.

House of Commons Commission

Correspondence

Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what the average daily number of letters sent from the House of Commons to Government departments was in each year since 2000.

John Thurso: The number of letters sent from the House of Commons to Government Departments via the Inter-Despatch Service (IDS) over the period for which records are held is listed below. No count was made of individual items before May 2012 and so no information is available prior to this date. Number of items2012 (May–Dec)31,849201342,243201436,5122015 (Jan)3,426